Most Definitely Alive
by Metallica4ever
Summary: A young girl, bitten and changed by a Hunter, struggles to remember her past. Then a new boy comes along... what will happen next?.....
1. What happened to me?

It was dark and cold that night. I walked with her, trying to just stay awake a little longer, until we found a safe room to spend the night in. Suddenly, a Hunter leaped in front of us, and pounced on me. His sharp claws dug into my sides and his teeth tore at my neck. She fired her gun; it was too late. The dead Hunter rolled off me, and everything went black.

* * *

…

What was going on? I couldn't see, couldn't hear; was I dreaming? It didn't feel like sleep, it wasn't peaceful or comforting. It was like I couldn't control my body…my voice… what was happening? I couldn't think straight. I was lost in thought, lost in my own mind. I had to get up.

_Legs…those are what make you walk. Or was it arms? Hands. Hands and feet. No, that's not right! Hmm, why can't I remember? This is so frustrating._

Suddenly the simplest tasks were confusing and hard. I couldn't remember how to form words. I couldn't remember how to get up and walk. What was going on? My skin was hot with infection, but I didn't feel sick.

_What? Why am I so warm? I was doing fine just a moment ago! I better get to a doctor! If only I could remember…_

I started to crawl around on my hands and feet in the rain. I pulled my sweatshirt hood down over my face so I didn't get too wet.

_I'm starving. I need to get food. See a doctor. Why do I need to see a doctor again?_

Just then, I heard her voice. Then I lost control.

_What's happening to me? Why can't I control myself? No, it can't be- _I found myself in the air, and shortly after, landing on the girl. _Who is she? I know her. I know her scent. Her scent… everything smells so different; so strong. I still can't see, but my hearing and sense of smell have tripled, if not more! Why? What's this on my hands? Is that…blood? It's warm and smells so… What's going on? What am I? What am I… _

_Was I an animal? No, I was human. I can't remember! Somebody tell me what's going on! I can't talk. No. Growl. This isn't right…none of this is right! I'm not an animal! No! I speak! Please, somebody help me…_

_Ah! My neck! It's bleeding. This girl, who is she? I know her eyes…those terrified eyes…why was she so scared? They're looking at me…I can see now? Yes, I can see. She's bleeding…_

_Why was she hurt? What happened to her? Why am I covered in- her blood? Did I- Did I do this? Why would I do this? This is wrong! Isn't it? Right and wrong…what do they mean? I'm not supposed to do wrong…right? I wish somebody would help me! Can anybody just tell me what was going on? I can't control myself…I'm so hungry. This girl…she's weak. Survival of the fittest! Right? Or was that…wrong? No! I'm not an animal, this is a person! A living person! I won't kill her! And I definitely won't…eat her. Why did I even think that? That's disgusting! I can't control myself…_

_Her blood…it's on my hands. Now there's more. She's bleeding more. I'm doing this to her? Why? Her neck. It's exposed. Yes, this is my meal. No! No! My voice? I can hear it now. Those eyes looking at me…sad, tortured, hurt, eyes. They almost look disappointed… They can hear me, too? Yes, this girl can hear me! I'm speaking…what was I saying? No? I don't understand. I can't do this anymore. I have to pull away. She said my name. My name… _

The moment the girl said my name, I leapt away. My name…what was it again? Ashley. My name was Ashley. I left that strange girl that I once knew behind me. I wasn't me anymore. I was something else. I was an animal. Once she was far behind, I started to feel sick. Hungry. Suddenly, my head jerked back and my nose sniffed the soft breeze, smelling the prickly scent of dead. My chest rose as I took in a long breath, and let it out in a long noise. It was a noise that sent chills down even my own back, a sound of pure pain. A call for help, for my brothers and sisters. A howl.

* * *

…

"I'll be okay," she said as Anna looked at her worriedly from across the room. Christina was still shaking from being out in the cold rain. She was wrapped up in two thick blankets in the corner of the room. When she found the safe room, she told them all what happened. How her teammate was attacked by a Hunter. "I killed the Hunter before it could get me, but it was too late for her. It bit her, but I didn't know how badly. So I brought her into the nearest building and found an Infected-free room. I barricaded the door, and got her warmed up. That's when she went unconscious. After a few minutes, she woke up. Then something weird happened. She crawled across the floor and didn't even glance at me. She just kept walking until…she growled! And then she turned around and pounced on me! She scratched me and ripped me up pretty bad, and then she went for the neck. When I said her name, it was like she snapped out of it! Then she went into attack mode again and just ran off! She broke right through the door and everything! That thing…it killed her. She's dead! She's a freaking zombie!" Christina exclaimed and began to cry.

"Listen. Christina…I'm sorry. I really am. But there's something that we all knew was coming." Christian said as he took out his gun. "She got you."

Just then, Anna jumped up and grabbed the gun out of his hands. Sienna screamed, "No! Are you crazy!? I can't believe you!" Christina hid her face and cried harder. Sienna continued on. "The virus is only contagious if you get it a certain way. You can't get unless…" Christina sat up and pulled the blanket off of her.

"No. She didn't… she didn't bite me."

Christian looked so guilty. "I'm sorry…this whole thing is just getting me so panicky! I can't take it!" he yelled. Everyone was on edge, but now that they lost one of their own it was terrible. One of them had died. They weren't invincible, no matter how much they had thought that before. And Ashley proved it.

* * *

…

A bunny hopped by me into a bush. It was small and cute, with its little whiskers and its fluffy tail. But something came over me, I couldn't control it. I lunged at the bush, using my strong legs to push me off of the ground and into the air. I soared towards the bush, landed, and came out holding the rabbit between my teeth with pride. I had a nice meal, and then continued walking. I thought about that girl I attacked; I knew her but I didn't know how. She was so familiar, but I didn't remember meeting her. It was so confusing. I got tired and settled down to rest in a dry alleyway behind an old building. As I drifted to sleep, memories pounded in my head.

_"C'mon Ash! Let's go! The movie starts in ten minutes! Hurry!" It was that girl again. I laughed and ran along…Was she my friend? Maybe…but what was her name? I don't remember. I don't remember anything! Why? What happened? I don't know…_

Suddenly, a noise woke me up. There was something on me…a blanket. I slowly opened my eyes to find something sniffing at my face. I shrieked in surprise, the noise sounding all too animal like. I was different, almost dog like. The thing that was sniffing my face was another creature, dog like, and jumped back as soon as a shrieked. It was cowering in a corner now, whimpering and shaking. I walked towards it and sniffed it carefully. It tilted its head and gave me a curious look, then touched my arm. A deep growl rumbled in its throat, but somehow I knew it didn't have any bad intensions. It was a more scared and curious growl than a mean one. I backed away and gave the creature its space. As a backed away, it pushed its face forward towards me and sniffed cautiously. Then it leapt up into the air over me. It was gone, and I went back to sleep.

* * *

…

It was the first one I saw… a female Hunter. A female of my kind. She was sleeping softly, her breathing light and regular. She never stirred; I even wondered if she was alive at first. When I got closer, I saw her breathing; her breath even showed as mist because of how cold it was. She wouldn't survive if she stayed in the cold now that it was raining heavier. I pounced down at her, careful not to wake her. I took the blanket out of my backpack and covered her; it was thick enough to keep her warm and dry for at least a few hours. She smelled like humans, I got closer to inspect. She screamed so loud I jumped backwards and landed in the corner, shaking. Afterwards I felt stupid, showing my weakness like that. Especially in front of a female! She sniffed me and let me touch her arm. Her skin was cooler than mine; she wasn't completely like me yet. She still had a lot of human in her. I jumped away, disappearing in darkness.


	2. Close call with the new guy

"Christina! Wake up!" Anna said quietly beside Christina's bed. Christian, Sienna, and Rick were all sleeping and Anna had been on watch for the night. Rick grumbled as Christina turned over next to him.

"What is it?" she asked, still half asleep.

"Christina, I need to talk to you about something. Well, I've been on watch all night, and there's something worrying me." She had dark circles under her green and brown eyes. She hadn't slept at all the past two days. You could see fear in her eyes. "I heard a Hunter scream earlier. But this one was different. It sounded scared. And- and it was a girl."

They had never even heard of female Hunters, let alone actually heard one. Christina thought about Ash, the only female Hunter that they ever saw. Her best friend. Was she really out there? This close? She prayed that Ash wasn't stupid enough to come here and try to attack. She knew what would happen then. "You think…you think it was her?"

"Maybe." Anna looked sad and worried; she had nearly the same expression on her face as Christina did. It was terrible to think that their best friend was dead. Dead, but still able to kill people with one move of her hand.

…

I woke up and saw it again, this time on top of the building that I was laying against. His eyes glowed down on me in the darkness. It was kind of scary out here, especially with this thing coming after me. I looked up at it at I stood. I crouched low to the ground, my legs coiled and ready to spring. I pounced upwards, landing on the creature and sending us both to the ground. It yelped, not from the fall but my claw accidentally digging into its arm. I instantly grabbed it when I was falling, just to hold onto something. This time I got a good look at its face. His face. It was a creature just like me, a male. Then I remembered something.

"_Hunter!" she yelled. It was that girl again. Then something with glowing eyes pounced at me. I shot it. I killed it. It tried to kill me. _

I quickly got up and ran away from the monster in front of me. I let out a low warning growl to keep him away from me. He was one of those things. Those killers. He whimpered and lowered his head keeping his eyes on my the hole time, but never making eye contact. Then I realized something that shocked me. I was one of those things. It all made sense now. I was a Hunter, a vicious creature who once was human. I still was human on the outside, and I had human feelings. But I was far from human now. I was bitten by one of these things and infected with their virus. Then I changed. I was a monster. He crouched down in front of me and leaped into the air, pushing me down flat on my back as he landed. He let out a growl, too, but his was playful and friendly. I didn't really know what I was supposed to do next; _should I rip him to shreds for pinning me to the ground like this? Or should_ _I play back? What would I do if I played back? Would I tackle him like he did? _I didn't know what to do, so I just laid there and looked at him. Our eyes met, his were silvery grey. I could see happiness in them, but there was also a slight fear. _Was he afraid of me?_ I pushed him off and stood up. He looked at me and playfully tilted his head, a little confused. He walked towards me slowly; I let out a quiet growl. He stopped and looked at me, letting out a long, high pitched whine.

I jumped over him and tackled him from behind. He let out a yelp, but I could tell he wasn't hurt. I pinned him to the ground on his stomach, proud of my catch. He snarled and wiggled until I let him free. I grinned; it was one of the only things that I could remember how to do now. Memories were fading every second, until they were just black, empty spaces in my mind. I felt emotion, and had some flashbacks, and even remembered little bits and pieces of things from my past. All I knew was that I wasn't a human, I was a Hunter. I couldn't remember where that word came from, but I knew what it meant. The male Hunter pounced on me again, this time with more power, but not enough to harm me. He let out a deranged giggle, like a crazy little laugh. I could tell he was having a lot of fun with this, and he wasn't going to stop any time soon.

All of the sudden he stopped and growled. I looked at his eyes; they were full of rage. Something inside of him snapped, and he was in attack mode. He pounced on me, this time dragging his claws down my arms, leaving long scratches oozing blood. I yelped and pushed him off of me. He suddenly whined loudly and whimpered as he sat down at my feet. I jumped backwards, not knowing what to expect. He looked at me with appolegetic eyes. No rage, anger, or bad intensions. Just fear, sadness, guilt, and a spark of playfulness still lingering deep behind those eyes.


	3. Ashley's Back

She pounced on me. I let her pounce on me! Well I guess I was asking for it when I pounced on her… then something happened to me. Suddenly I couldn't control myself; I blacked out. When I woke up she was bleeding. _I hurt her…I didn't mean to!_ I wouldn't do it again. I would be careful now. _No, I would just leave. It's not like I knew her; I was just walking through and happened to see her._

…

"Please be more careful Christina. We…we don't want another one lost," Anna said as she pulled out a pack of Dentyne gum.

"Hey, where's you get that?" asked Sienna. It was early morning, and the rain had finally stopped. Unlike most spring mornings, it was not calm and peaceful. It wasn't bright and clear outside. There wasn't any dew on the grass outside, and the fresh smell after the rain was replaced by decay and fire. The whole building smelled like death and gasoline.

"Gas station raid. I grabbed a couple packs in there. Want a piece?" Anna asked quietly. Christina shook her head in reply, so Anna passed the pack around to the others. Christina hadn't said much since what happened. It had been two days, and last night Anna heard her. She knew it was her…it had to be. "Listen guys…I need to talk to you about something. I heard a Hunter last night. It screamed pretty close by, but it wasn't the usual killer Hunter scream. It sounded…scared, like something attacked it."

"You think it was the one that got her?" Sienna asked.

"No. Christina killed that one. This one didn't kill her…it is her." Anna said as the room fell silent. "Maybe she was attacked…maybe she was killed."

"No, she already was dead. A zombie," Christian joined in.

"Listen, Christian, she's not dead. None of these people are. They aren't zombies, they're just sick. She's sick. Not dead," Sienna pointed out. Suddenly they heard a scream outside. It was right outside the door. Everyone covered their ears and took out their guns, hoping it wouldn't try breaking in. It was definitely a Hunter, but it had a much different scream than the others. It was a girl.

"Oh this can't be good!" Christina yelled. Everyone ran to the door, trying to get a peak through the steel bars. A young girl crouched, back faced to them, in front of the door. A male Hunter was right in front of her, growling and hissing. She jumped on him and he let out an awful snarl. She jumped off of him and landed on an awning above an old café, ripping trough it as she struggled to keep her balance. The female Hunter fell to the ground and was tackled by the male. It seemed like they were playing a game!

Suddenly the female jumped at the door and stuck her hand through the bars slowly, until her whole arm was sticking trough. Everyone backed away from the door, hesitating to shoot. Christian lifted his gun, but Rick pushed it back down. They were in a pretty big group, with Rick, Anna, Sienna, Christian, and Christina, along with their lost member that makes six all together. The male jumped at the door as well, but the female quickly pushed him out of the way. She made an odd noise and pointed at Christina. It was a hiss, paired with a growl deep in her throat.

"Hssso-hsssur-sssurrrry" The noise almost sounded like words. "Surrrrry…s-s-suury," it said again. Christina looked at the Hunter's face. Most of it was covered with its hood. Christina reached towards the door, Rick immediately grabbing her arm and pulling it back. She pushed him out of the way and reached forward again.

"Listen, this thing is trying to tell us something. If it attacks me, shoot the hell out of it. If not, we just found something important," she said calmly. As she reached out through the bars, the male growled and lunged for it. Before he could get close, the female let out a warning growl and bared her teeth at him, causing him to back off quickly. Christina slowly pulled up the hood, revealing Ashley's tan, rain soaked face. Ash let out a small whimper and pulled down her hood, refusing anybody to get near her face again. The male walked away on all fours, tugging on Ashley's sweatshirt. He growled, and then whined softly, a pleading look in his eyes. He wanted her to go, and she wanted him to stay. He finally gave up and walked away.

"Ssur-surry," Ash said again. She kept pointing at Christina, staring at her every time she said something. Occasionally she would eye Christian, keeping a close watch on his gun.

"Sorry?" Sienna asked her nervously. "Is that what you're saying? Sorry?"

Ash nodded her head. "Soooorrrry," she said, touching Christina's arm. Christina's eyes filled with tears.

"No…no I am sorry. Me. Not you," she said, now pointing back at Ash. "Me." She pointed at herself now. "I let him get you."

Ash shook her head rapidly. "Noooo," she hissed. "No." Everyone watched what would happen next. Ash tilted her head sideways, reminding them all of a dog. Then she whimpered and put her hand on the door. It was obvious she couldn't remember how to open it, and nobody knew what to do.

Sienna spoke up. "I told you she wasn't dead. Most definitely _alive_." Christian gave Ash a guilty look and put his hand forward. She grabbed it and bit it lightly, not hard enough to break the skin. He screamed and grabbed his gun, pointing it right at her face. She whimpered and tears rolled down her cheeks until he lowered his gun.

"I swear to god if she gave me super rabies I'm gonna kill her." He turned around and laid down as everyone let out a sigh. Christina was really crying now.

"How could you say that?" she yelled. "She's one of us! Part of out team!" Christian looked guilty once again. He never really thought before he spoke, and he didn't mean it. Ash was one of his best friends.

"Look, I didn't mean it. I'm sorry! Now, I'm tired. Just…don't let her near me while I'm sleeping," he said softly. Everyone looked at Ash, wondering what they should do. She was infected, and if she bit anyone they would be infected to. She was a killing machine, set on destroying everyone in her path. But she was also one of their friends. It was a tough decision, but finally they knew what to do. They found chains left here by somebody before in the corner. They attached them to a table that was attached to the wall. If it didn't hold, then they would wake up from the sound of the table being yanked from the wall or the chains rattling. Sienna slowly opened the door, not noticing the glowing pair of eyes on top of the building in front of them. As soon as she opened the door something flew towards her, grabbing her and knocking her down. She screamed as the thing in her sniffed and growled. It was the male Hunter. Christian was sound asleep, and when he woke from the screaming, he didn't even know what to do. His gun was lying beside her and all the others where too afraid to shoot. None of them had great aim, and with them moving around so much, they couldn't risk shooting her.

Suddenly Sienna started laughing! Everyone looked at each other, wondering what was going on. "Stop it! Stop it!" Sienna said giggling. The Hunter finally stood up and looked at her playfully. "Needs to be trained better," she said. All of them laughed but Christian, who was watching the Hunter's every move.


	4. They're Different

"Look's nice enough," Anna said quietly. The Hunter walked forward, making Christian take out his gun again. The Hunter hissed softly at the sight of it. Anna told him to put it away, realizing this thing didn't mean any harm.

…

These humans seemed nice, except the short male, and they were unlike all the others I encountered. They didn't shoot, or even take out their guns at the sight of me like the others. They gave me a chance. I could trust them. I didn't want to take the chance of getting shot by the man, so I kept my distance from him and his female.

All of them seemed almost _happy_ when they saw that female I found. It was strange; she was a Hunter like me. Why would humans accept her? Accept _me_?

…

_I know her. I know that scent…those eyes. Those familiar eyes…They all were acting like they wanted to see me. _

_This Hunter keeps following me…what is he doing? What does he want? Is he hunting me? Trying to kill me? He wasn't showing any bad intensions, but he could change. He did before…_

…

"What the hell is up with these things?" Christian asked loudly. Out of all of them, he was the loud mouth. Cocky, arrogant, loud, sometimes stupid, and never thinking before speaking. That was him alright.

Anna looked up at him. She was sitting on the floor beside his bed. "They're getting friendlier…maybe they want help or something," she said to him. "And I'm not complaining!"

The male was running in circles on the floor like a dog, while Ash was sitting with Christina trying to speak. She spoke clearly once she learned to form the word, and she was a fast learner. Pretty soon she could probably say full sentences instead of just single words. The male found a small rubber ball and rolled it to Christian's feet. Christian stared down at him and kicked the ball away, purposely kicking the Hunter in the face as well. Suddenly the Hunter let out a fierce snarl and latched onto Christian's foot, biting down hard.

Christian screamed and tried to kick the Hunter away from him, but he had a tight grip on his foot and would not let go. Christina ran over and tried to pull him off, but it was no use. Ash jumped over and tackled him, snarling and growling and sending the male flying across the floor. Christian, gasping for breath, looked at her thankfully. "I owe ya one, Ash." It was the first time he said her name since she was changed.


	5. Hugs

"Christian…" Sienna started, "oh god…" She stared down at Christian's foot.

"How bad is it?" Christian's voice was shaking, as well as his whole body. He was lying down, with Sienna taking care of his foot. Sienna hesitated for a long moment and sighed.

"It's still attached and seems to be working…so I would say you're okay for now." Christian yelled out in pain as she wrapped his foot up. Every time she moved it he winced, and when it was finally wrapped he let out a breath that he had not realized he was holding in.

"Shoot…it…" he said breathlessly. There was silence as everyone looked at the Hunter, who was glancing nervously and innocently. Rick sighed and took out his gun, but seeing the look in Christina's eyes, he put it away quickly. Christina sat down on the ground looking at the Hunter. He came over and sniffed her face friendlily. She pushed him away, making him whine softly. She didn't react to it until it turned into a growl. She stood up and took out her gun, but made sure not to point it at him. He seemed agitated when Christian and Rick did it to him, and that was the last thing she wanted to do.

"It's okay, I don't want to hurt you," she said calmly as possible. He looked up at her, his gaze intense and his growl deepening. It was also getting louder and more vicious. Ash leapt to his side and put her hand on his back, letting out a small whimper. He glanced at her, but was quick to return his eyes to Christina, who was now getting shakier.

His growl suddenly grew loud and fierce as he stepped towards Christina. _Why was he doing this?_ she thought. Ash looked at him and whined quietly. It seemed like she was trying to calm him down…

Ashley tried everything, but none of it worked. Just then she looked him in the eyes and grabbed him tightly, wrapping her arms around him.

…

_It's called a hug…I think…and I remember it calming me down, so it'll calm him down, right? Or maybe he'll tear me limb from limb for interfering…oh well it's worth a shot._

I hugged him tight until he stopped wiggling and snarling. I shut my eyes tight, although I don't think anyone could see them under my hood. His growl grew quiet and finally ceased, but I didn't let go just yet. I didn't want him jumping on any of the humans and hurting them again, that mangy thing. Especially not her…

When he started trying to escape my arms I let him free. He scampered away, but didn't stray too far. He was sickly looking and weak, obviously had uncontrollable mood swings, and was, for some reason, stalking me! I had to get far away from him, before he killed me!

…

The girl was trying to control me again…it was all an accident…I don't even remember what happened! I remember seeing her, then chasing the ball…the man did something…I got angry. I woke up to see the man's foot had been torn open. I tasted something metallic in my mouth…it was blood. What did I do? Oh no, they're gonna kill me! No…no…oh no…Suddenly I panicked; one of the females came close to me and made me nervous…I freaked out and couldn't control the growl escaping my throat. The female Hunter came to my side and put a hand on my back. I continued to growl until she did something that made my memories come flying back to me…she wrapped her arms around me and pressed herself to me.

"_Morning, sleepy head!" the girl said softly. I recognized her face and calm voice, but I couldn't quite name her. She was special…closer than a friend. "We've got a lot to do today!" she said. I rolled over and pulled a pillow over my head. She laughed quietly and tugged on the pillow. "C'mon!" Just then there was a scream outside, and something banged on the door. It ripped through it and pounced on her, leaving gashes everywhere and ripping her open until she died. I yelled and punched the thing, making it even angrier. It was a Hunter, like me…The Hunter jumped at me and sunk his teeth into my neck. It was the first infected I had seen. It was before anyone even knew about the infection. _

We Hunters started when a wolf got the disease. It was the first thing to get it, and it soon spread it to others before it was killed. Others got it from people who had it. But we were different…smarter, stronger, faster.


	6. Bullets And Tats

_What's happening to me? I feel sick…hot…but cold. Is it the infection? What happened to the man? I know them all so well…Why did that Hunter hurt him? I knew he was trouble from the beginning…but this? I wasn't expecting him to attack! _

…

Christina jumped away as soon as the Hunter calmed down, and then hid behind Rick. He was the one with the bigger gun and the most ammo, since he had the best shot. The young Hunter crawled towards them as Rick drew his gun. He stood up and pushed the gun down slowly and carefully until it wasn't pointing at him anymore. As soon as he got close to Rick's face, Rick knew what he had to do. Then a number of things happened, all at once.

The male Hunter growled loudly and let out the usual Hunter attack cry. As the Hunter opened his mouth to bite, he was stopped short and his growl turned into a loud yelp of pain. Christina closed her eyes tightly at the sound of the gunshot. Ash ran over and mauled Rick, knocking him to the ground without causing any injury. She ran to the crying Hunter's side and whimpered quietly as she touched the wound in his side. He whined and whimpered and tried to stand, but soon fell limp on the floor. His eyes fluttered closed and the puddle of blood he laid in grew larger.

Sienna stood, looking down at the fallen Hunter. She sighed and turned to Rick, who looked slightly guilty now. "You did the right thing, Ricky. If you didn't do it, he would have bitten you, and you would end up just like Ashley." She sat down and took in a long breath. Suddenly Ash growled at Rick. She lunged at him a second time, knocking him off his feet again. He yelled and pushed her away, but she didn't stay down for long. She snarled and backed him into a corner before returning to the Hunter lying lifelessly on the floor of the safe room.

Christian looked at his body on the floor and sighed slightly. The thing bit him, nearly tearing off his foot, and almost attacked his friends. Why did he feel sorry for it now? He knelt down to Ashley's side and put a hand on her shoulder. She growled at the friendly gesture and pushed his hand away from her. After a moment, though, she took his hand and whined under her breath as she looked at him. He was one of her best friends, and she was his only good friend. They understood each other, and they still did somehow.

Ash let go of Christian's hand and took the Hunter's. Ash moved the Hunter's body away from the blood and into the corner. There was no more blood pouring out of the wound. She whimpered and curled up with him, laying her head on his chest.

…

_What did he do? Why would they do that to him? He trusted them! Why isn't he moving…what did they do to him? Is he…_

The male that I had considered a nuisance and a threat was now lying before me, limp and exposed. Blood poured out of a small hole in his side. It had all happened so fast…Before I thought of him as a…well basically an annoyance. Now he was just lying there on the floor in front of me…I thought of him as a friend. I pulled him with all my might into the corner where none of the others could get him. Then I realized just what was happening…they had…killed him?

_No! Why?! How?! Why would they do this to him? I'm gonna…no! I can't lose this now. The darkness in me won't get to me. Not here, not ever! _

I pushed against him and whined, tears falling down my cheeks. I slowly lowered my head to his chest. Then I heard something.

…

Ash jumped up and grabbed onto the dead Hunter's hand, pulling on it lightly. She tugged on his sweatshirt and whimpered, trying to pull him up. She lowered her head to his chest again. Anna got up, looking concerned. "Rick…you've got to see this," she said quietly, pointing to where the two Hunter's laid. Ash stood and walked to Christina, pulling her over to the Hunter on the floor. Ash lowered her own head to his chest, and then motioned for Christina to do the same. Christina did as Ashley said and quickly jumped away from the Hunter. Unlike what all of them thought, his heart was still beating. She wasn't sure what to do next, try to save him, or shoot him again until he was really dead.

After a few seconds of thinking, she grabbed the chains they had found earlier. She secured them to the table, then the Hunter's arms. Sienna got up and walked over. "What are you doing? Rick killed the thing; it doesn't need to be tied up!" she said to the girl, who was working hard trying to get everything secure. When she finally stood up when the chains were in place, she smiled.

"Not quite killed," she said softly. Everyone looked at her silently. "Listen for yourself!" Sienna knelt down and listened hard. Then she heard a beat. He was alive! Rick looked at the Hunter and took out his gun. Christina jumped up in front of him. "Please, just give me a chance." He nearly collapsed seeing her expression. Her eyes burned into him; there was a fire raging behind her calm, cool expression. She walked away for a moment, returning with medical supplies. She tended to the wound until…he woke up.

He tried jumping up, but the chains restricted him. And when he finally stood, he collapsed again from pain and loss of blood. He sat on the floor looking at Ash, who was lying with her head on his chest when he woke up. She was sitting beside him with her hand over his. Then the pain came. Christina had to clean the wound and check how deep it was. When she tried, he yelped and growled and snapped at her, his darkness almost taking over again. But he wouldn't let that happen again. Ash clenched his hand and held it tightly, trying to calm him down. He gave her a confused look, but settled down and stopped moving so much when she rested her head on his shoulder.

The wound was very deep, and he had lost so much blood, Christina doubted she could save him. He was weak, so he wouldn't be able to survive alone out there. She knew they couldn't keep him…Christian would kill him. It was probably what was best, too. But she wouldn't kill him. She couldn't. Ash held his hand tighter as he started to whimper again. Christina attempted to take of the hoodie, but he snarled and snapped until she gave up. She needed to get it off of him, but she didn't know how. Then Ash pinned him to the ground and growled a warning, making sure he couldn't move. Christina pulled the sweatshirt off of him.

When she saw what was hidden under it, she gasped. He was no older than 18, one year older than all of the girls there, and extremely scrawny. She could see his ribs, and his hair needed to be cut badly. Long black strands of his hair fell into his face in front of his eyes. He was actually fairly good looking, to Christina's surprise. He also needed a bath. His skin was covered in cuts and scars; the newest being a gash across his chest that split a tattoo in half. It was a letter…a "D". It was wrapped with a black and red rose. Christina looked at him sadly. He growled loudly, but Ash pinned him down harder and growled back. The Hunter was covered in blood, old and new, some his some others'. It would take forever to get all of the dirt and blood off of his skin. After she fixed up the wound as best she could, she turned to Christian.

"What happened to you?" she asked in a tone that none of them had ever heard before. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. He started stuttering and finally choked out two words.

"I care." Everyone looked at him, confused. They had never heard those words come out of his mouth before. The most he ever cared about anything was when he found the only working TV in a little shop. Of course, then he realized that nothing would be on because every cable station was abandoned.

Anna stood up and smiled. "Really?" she asked, wondering if he was serious. Nobody expected that from him. He nodded his head quickly and mumbled something as he walked into the bathroom. Everyone looked at around. Christina smiled and looked at the Hunter sitting with Ash on the floor beside her.

Hey guys, thanks for the reviews! I just made a video…kinda like a trailer type thing…look up "littlewolv" on youtube if any of you are interested! my video is called Most Definitely Alive. Thanks again! =)


	7. TANK!

**Eek! Sorry guys, with school and everything it has been a bit harder to get all of this writing done! Well, here it is. Chapter Seven!**

…

All I remember is the darkness…then the scream of the man's gun. A piercing, excruciating pain came to me, and I realized a terrible wound in my side. I yelped, and everything slowly went black. When I woke up, I had no clue how to react to the small girl who was on the floor in a corner of the room with me, resting her head on my chest. I was utterly confused. When I finally came to my senses, I had to get up. But something cold and metallic was wrapped tightly around my wrists, holding me back. _Chains?_ I wondered who had put them there. The kind young girl approached me, but I didn't know what to do. I was afraid of what would happen to me next, would they do this to me again? I growled, but the tiny female pounced on me, showing her true strength. What was it with her and this girl? They had been side by side since last night, when I arrived. Did they know each other before she was turned?

My wound stung furiously while the young girl washed it with some kind of bubbling liquid in a large brown bottle. It hurt, but the pain was nothing compared to the initial bullet entry. The skin around the deep cut was completely clean after the bubbling subsided. What was that stuff? It worked very strangely…

…

I would never let them do this to him again. Never. They would have to get through me before they even thought of hurting him again.

_Why am I saying this? It's not like I love him or anything! He's not my male, I'm not his female. He is just a friend…right? I'm sure that's all he thinks of me, but what do I think of him? I'm not sure…hmm…If he considers me his, then I can call him mine, right? Is that how it works with these things? I think I really like him…_

I was so confused with all of this Hunter stuff. Was I his mate if he said so? Or was it the other way around? Maybe it was a mutual decision…anyway it was important. Maybe I _did _want to be his…or maybe he already had a female. But there were much more important things going on now.

…

Christina walked to the bathroom door and knocked a few times. After a moment she heard heavy breathing and mumbling coming from in the tiny bathroom. "Christian! What are you doing? Jeez, you've been in there for nearly twenty minutes! What the hell are you doing and who's in there with you?" she said goofily. Anna and Sienna laughed, but not at Christina's remark. They were watching Ash taunt the male Hunter. Seeing he was chained and could not reach her, she was teasing him! After a minute, Ash lifted her nose to the air and smelled a familiar scent. It was a bag of Oreo cookies in Rick's backpack. She quickly ran to the bag and tore right through it using her short, yet razor sharp claws. She took a cookie and put it on the floor, feet in front of the male. He struggled and squirmed, but failed at retrieving it. Ash looked at him apologetically and smiled. She picked up the cookie and handed it to him, inching closer and closer until her body was against his. Suddenly everyone in the room, including the two Hunters, turned their attention to the scream coming from outside the bathroom.

The door swung open slowly to reveal the cause of Christina's panic. Christian was collapsed on the floor, his chest moving rapidly as he took in raspy breaths. He was passed out, but still breathing and occasionally twitching his leg. Everyone looked at the leg that was now spasming. Sienna gasped at the sight. Christian's foot was exposed and bloody, the skin torn away all the way up to his ankle. Rick shuddered and Anna looked away, but soon looked back again. There were blood-soaked bandages all over the floor and blood was splattered on the door and sink. Ash let out an odd sounding cry and pulled away from the male.

She arrived at the door and ran inside. She quickly put her head to Christian's chest. As soon as she heard the beat she stood and blushed; a rosy color flooding to her pale face. She glanced at the Hunter who was chained in the opposite corner of the room. They exchanged sad expressions before she returned to her limp friend. The sun was up now, and none of them had got any sleep. Christian's eyes slowly opened and he let out a scream of pain. Nobody had ever seen tears on the tough guy's face, but here they were. He started to look down, but Christina held his head up, not wanting him to see the torn foot. "Just stay calm, Christian, and everything will be okay," she said softly. She managed to form a tiny, twisted smile and a quiet, squeaky, hoarse laugh. She was trying to make this situation better, but she knew there was not much she could do.

Ash paced in the small room, her chest heaving as she took in deep, quick breaths. She was on all fours, going around in circles on the dirty tile floor. Christina called Sienna over and asked her to get some more supplies, as well as some food. Maybe she could distract him with it while she worked on his foot. Sienna came in and gasped, grabbing her stomach and covering her mouth. "Here-here's the foo-food you wanted. And I got more med-medical supplies," she managed to choke out as she gagged at the sight of Christian's foot; bones exposed and bloody. She ran out of the room and everyone heard a terrible coughing, gagging sound. Christina kneeled down on the cold tile and gave Christian the food. He quickly ate it and smiled.

"You people never expect me to care about anything," he said in a hoarse voice as he let out a raspy cough. "I don't feel so great," he said quietly. Ash looked at him and whined. The male Hunter was now struggling hard to get out of his chains and investigate all the commotion. He was getting angry at these things that restricted him, tight around his wrists and short so he could no longer be with the humans. He tried with all his might to get out of them, but nothing worked. After failing a few times, he tried something new.

Gathering all of the strength that he had in him, he used it all to twist around and leap into the air. One of the chains snapped, while the other was weakened. One of the links was beginning to bend. All he had to do now was destroy that one link, and the entire chain would be useless. He pulled on it hard, but he was too weak. He had lost so much blood, and when he broke the other chain, he used up all of the strength left in him. Then an idea came to him. He grabbed the chain and bit it with his strong teeth. After just a few seconds, it snapped. The Hunter jumped weakly while everyone had their attention on Christina and Christian. He landed on Rick's bed and pounced down to the floor below. It was a bunk bed, and he hardly made it up there. Anna looked up to see the Hunter jumping right over her and landing in front of her. Ash looked over and growled. The male was suddenly tense as his back arched and his shoulder's rose. He snarled and stared at Anna intensely.

Rick grabbed his gun again, but the Hunter jumped away, then towards him, knocking his gun out of his hands. Then a smile reached the Hunter's face; a sort of happy, but sort of crazed smile. He reached out towards Rick and opened his hand, revealing the rubber ball he had played with last night. The Hunter put it in Rick's hand and bounced around the room, as if asking to play. Rick looked at this and thought to himself, _I've gone freaking insane!_ He threw the ball and sure enough, the Hunter threw himself after it. He seemed to have regained most of his energy some how, and now he was extremely hyper. Ash looked at the sight and growled a warning to them both. She pointed to the shaking body on the floor and whimpered slightly. They both stopped and came over to have a look at the injured man. He was fully awake now; shivering and shaking on the hard tile.

Christian looked at the Hunter staring down at him. The young male whined quietly and smiled at him. He didn't mean harm…but he also almost tore Christian's foot off. Nobody could trust him, even if they wanted to. Ash looked at him and smiled, turning to Christina. "H-hurt," she said quietly. A frown appeared on Christina's face as she nodded.

"He's very hurt."

The male looked at Christian and then suddenly lifted his head and yelled. Everybody drew guns, but nobody pointed. They all stepped back, not even realizing the sound coming from outside. The Hunter yelled out again and growled viciously, making everyone point their guns at him. He pounced towards them, landing inches away from Christina. He faced her and sniffed and growled again. She let out a tiny whimper, trying not to show him her fear. He turned around, but stayed right there in front of her. He kneeled down and lifted Christina off the tile, who was not happy about it. He winced at the pain in his foot and leg, and then started hitting the Hunter. "Let go of me!" he shouted. The Hunter finally put him down where the others stood, guns still out. He turned to see Rick's gun in his face. This made him very angry.

…

Nobody understood me…it was so frustrating! They tied me up and left me there, pinned to the wall all alone. When I finally broke free, I pounced around to see what was happening. The short, aggressive male was on the ground making odd movements and occasionally whining in pain. The other male approached me, silent and stiff. I couldn't tell what he was thinking like I could with the others…he was different. Much harder to read…This time he didn't draw his gun or try to hurt me in any way. I gave him the ball I hunted earlier. He gladly returned it, but not before letting it bounce all over the room. I heard Ash in the small room warning me to stay away from him. She told me that she would hurt me if I hurt anyone else…this Hunter was crazy! _She likes me when I'm sleeping or hurt, and hates me when I'm awake! Maybe she's afraid of me…and thinks she can let her guard down when I'm incapable of hurting her…I'll show her! _I came up with a great plan…but then the man stopped playing ball with me and I had to go with him to the room with the smaller, pained man. He was obviously very hurt…_did I do that to him? I'm sorry…_Nobody could understand that I wasn't trying to hurt…it just happened…

…

Christian wasn't shaking anymore, and began to speak. "I-I was trying to just get the blood of the walls and…and I found some cleaning supplies. Bu-but," he started, occasionally losing his breath, "I accidentally spilled some and stepped in it. My- my foot started to burn and- and I blacked out. When I woke up, it hurt so bad…I couldn't stand up or do anything." Everyone around looked at his foot. Whatever was in the bottle that was spilled had practically dissolved his foot…

The male Hunter was growling and standing in front of Rick, his arms spread wide with hid back to the humans. It seemed almost like he was protecting them…Then they heard the awful sound. Rick lowered his gun for a moment before raising it to the door. There was silence, then a horrid roar of anger outside and the sound of cement being thrown. "Oh hell no." That was all Christina could say before half the wall was torn away and an enormous infected burst through.

"TANK!" Anna screamed as everybody took out their guns and prepared for battle. Christina had managed to wrap up Christian's foot fairly well, and he was able to stand and limp around to find his gun. The Tank came at them now, only about twenty feet away. They all shot at its head multiple times, but nothing seemed to work. Then, through the hole on the wall, nearly thirty common infected rushed in screaming. The Hunter had been trying to warn them.

Christina, Sienna and Rick shot the Tank in the head while Christian and Anna took out the common infected. Ash slashed the infected as they ran by her, and the male stood watching. Then everybody heard a terrible scream. Ash flew by them, blood splattering everywhere. She smashed into the wall and her whimpers stopped. Everybody turned around, but nobody could stop shooting. Then the male Hunter joined in. He quickly jumped around the room, picking up Ash and putting her in the small closet of the bathroom. Then he lunged at the Tank, landing on its back. He ripped at its eyes and face, throwing flesh and blood around the room. The enormous Tank finally fell to the ground with one last groan. The Hunter was panting hard, and collapsed on the floor.

Everybody fell to the ground, breathing hard. Christina went over to see if the male was okay. He was breathing pretty hard, but he just needed rest. Then she ran to the closet in a hurry. When she opened the door, Ash fell limply out onto the floor at her feet. Christina kneeled down and picked her up carefully. The Tank had hit her, sending her flying across the room and smashing the back of her head on the wall. She was bleeding pretty badly, but they still had plenty of bandages despite all the injuries. After Christina tended to the wound, Ash woke up screaming. Everybody jumped back except for the male, who took a few steps forward and reached out his clawed hand. She reached for it, whining slightly. Christian was limping much worse now. Another infected had bit him, but luckily he was immune. He layed down to rest and Anna sat at the foot of his bed. Ash grabbed the Hunter's hand and whimpered. Christina noticed that they made a lot of sounds when they were together, like their own language.

After a while of stacking random items, the hole in the wall was infected-proof. The male Hunter, Ash, and Christina stayed up late into the night, the Hunter just watching from a corner as the young girl pointed at people, saying their names and gesturing for Ash to copy. After a while, Ash learned very well to speak the humans' names.

…

I decided to sleep now that the others were. That male was somehow getting to me…he was always trying to be kind to my human friends, even though he hurt them sometimes. He was really starting to invade my mind…I was thinking about him all of the time…he was strange though. It was like even though nobody could trust him and he was made for tearing things apart and killing, we all wanted to trust him. Some of us did. Others weren't so happy about the idea of two murderers staying with us.

I went to sleep, not realizing that the male was still awake. I crawled into the bed and yawned quietly. He jumped up, almost slicing my arm. We stared at each other for a while before he pounced. At that moment I thought I was going to die. Then, something completely different happened. He jumped at me, pinning my arms to the bed and whining. His teeth met my neck and I winced, trying not to make any sound. The sharp piecing of razor sharp teeth never came, though. Instead a low whimper came, followed by him releasing my arms. He sat above me for what seemed like hours before I did anything. We just stared at each other, gray meeting red. My eyes had changed color, from deep brown to dark red. His were a silver grey. I sat, thinking of what I should do.


	8. I name isn't just a name

I continued to lay there under him, wondering if he would ever let me go. Finally I decided on what to do. I pushed on his chest lightly and let out a whimper. He got up, looking a little disappointed. He walked towards me and took my hand. I pressed myself against him and wrapped my arms around him to give him a hug. He was shocked at first, but he put his hand on my shoulder and returning the hug. I whined lightly, asking if he would stay. He smiled and let out a low growl, which woke Christina. I had finally learned all of their names, and was very happy to be able to address them properly instead of a whimper or, most of the time, a growl which startled them all. Christina jumped up and pulled out her gun, eying us cautiously. She pointed her gun at him and mumbled something. I hadn't realized that I was bleeding lightly from my arm where his hand clutched on tight. I whimpered at her and shook my head, telling her it was okay. She grumbled, out her gun away, and her head fell to the pillow once more. I looked at him and touched his hand. He hadn't realized that he was hurting me…but it hurt a lot. I growled at him then quietly whined for him to let go of me.

He agreed to do so and let go with a sigh. He was obviously disappointed; what did he expect? I wasn't involved with him in any way, not even in a friendly way. I was just a teammate, as Christina said. But I had this urge to call him something…he wasn't just s stupid Hunter. He had to have a name…I thought back to the "D" on his chest. Then I got an idea…_Damien._ I whispered the name to him and pointed to him. I pointed to myself and said my name, then did this to him. Damien crouched low and launched into the air, soaring over me and landing on his bed. _I suppose I have no choice now but to sleep there…_I thought to myself. He growled, obviously knowing what I was thinking. We Hunters had a bit of a talent when it comes to mind reading; we growled, whined, whimpered, and shrieked, but we also spoke with our minds. If we weren't careful, others could sort of…hear us. Like they know what we're thinking. Damien heard the thought and growled, pouncing on me roughly. I whimpered, asking him to stop. He cried out a deranged laugh and looked at my arms, which were bleeding even worse now. _It's like when they hear you thinking, they have power over you…_I finally shrieked from the pain when he bit me. Christian and Rick jumped up with their guns pointed at Damien. Anna and Sienna woke and took out their guns, but stayed at a distance unlike the men, whose guns were directly at the Hunter's face now.

Damien shoved the guns away from his face cockily. Letting out another giggle, he crouched to the floor and sprang up onto the top bunk of the bed behind me. I growled and shook my head "no" to the act. He sighed and slowly crawled back down and onto the floor next to me. I nudged him and whined, asked him why he did that to me. He smirked again and just pushed me a little harder than intended, knocking me to the floor. I bounced back up and pushed him lightly, which didn't do anything at all to him, besides get him more playful. The male then coiled up in crouch position on the cold floor and yelled out, laughing. _Great. Why does he always have to be like this?_ I asked myself, careful not to let him get back into my head. He was always alert and never let his guard down once.

He pounced on me and laughed. I looked at him angrily, arms folded across my chest. The others all sighed and went back to bed, but not before Christina lightly hit Damien upside the head. He growled and rubbed the spot, displeased by the action that left his head so sore. Everybody was asleep now, and I thought this was the perfect time to teach him…if he calmed down a bit. I finally got him to settle down and be quiet. I pointed to where Christina lay sleeping. "Chrissstinaaaa." I hissed softly. He tried doing the same.

"Chrissssssaaaaa." He said it over and over, "Chrissssssaaaaa."

"Chrissstinaaaa. Chrisss," I said quietly, "tina." He tried again without success.

"Chrisssssnaaaa?" he asked, tilting his head slightly. "Chrisssssstiiiiaaaa." I nodded my head and giggled softly, making sure nobody awoke.

"Chrissstinaaaa," I repeated. He nodded and spoke after me, while pointing to Christina in her bed.

"Chrissstinaaaa." He did it. He said her name. I nodded and hugged him tightly, not even thinking. He sat for a moment, the slowly wrapped his arms around me. I sighed and let go, but he held just a few moments longer. I smiled and we hopped towards the bad together, both of us in the air or on the ground at the same time. I lied down at the foot of the bed, more like a dog than a person. He lied down, sprawled out in the center on the comfortable and cozy bed. After a moment I realized I didn't have a pillow. I reached up to grab one, but he was already handing it to me. I smiled and whined thanks before drifting into a calm and peaceful sleep.

…

The female tried to fight me, but I made her give in. I wouldn't stop. I hurt her…and I didn't mean to. I just felt like I had control…I had power…and then everything happened quickly. When the darkness let go of me she was lying on the floor, and the taller man had his gun pointed at my face. For some reason I just laughed; trying to tell him I meant no harm didn't work. The female forgave me and even taught me a name. Christina…hmm. I really liked that name, but I wanted to know the female's. We went to sleep after she taught me; well at least she did. I watched her for a while to make sure she was okay before I slowly nodded off and fell into a deep sleep.

…

When Damien woke to find Ash still sleeping, he sat for a moment. He didn't really know what to do…he didn't know if he should go to sleep again, wake her up, leave her alone, or get up. He just decided to sit in bed until she awoke. He sat next to her, his face inches from hers. She felt his warm breath on her face and woke instantly, and was quite shocked when she found him there. So shocked that she reached forward and cut deep into his chest, creating a small but very deep gash. Seconds after she whimpered and panicked, trying to say she was sorry. She finally grabbed him and hugged him tight as she started to cry. She whimpered something quietly and buried her face in his shoulder. He sat there, wide eyed, not knowing what to do. His chest began to bleed and he was losing blood fast. He was honestly scared and in shock. He could die for all he knew. He choked out a raspy gasp and fell limp. The gash was extremely deep, and Christina didn't know if she could stitch it before he lost too much blood. Ash held her grip on him even after he fell limp, holding him up and clinging tight to him.

Christina took a look and did her best to stitch it up, and it worked fairly well. He wasn't unconscious or anything, just not moving all that much. He was simply scared. Ash nuzzled up against his chest, being careful not to touch the cut. He whimpered to her and slid his arm around her, assuring her it was okay. He was okay. The cut was just a cut, and would heal like any other. But Ash just had to be sure.

…

_Why am I thinking like this? I don't care about him. He's infected…but- so am I..._

I could not understand what I was doing. It was like I had what every other infected lacked…a heart. And this Hunter had one; too…we were the same. But I had been saved before I could loose control. I even _named_ him…

Everybody was standing around us…I whimpered as they watched us lying on the floor. I sat there; completely unaware of the world around me. I laid with him for what seemed like forever, just whimpering and assuring him it was okay. We were away from the world…separated from the rest. We were all alone, all of the faces around us growing more distant. Nothing was the same suddenly, like I had fallen in love. Had I? I curled up next to him and placed my head on his chest. We were laying there for what must have been hours…comfortably drifting away from civilization while they watched us. I was in a state of mixed emotions; I was afraid, sad, sorry, hurt, and in love.

_It was like a dark pit in the middle of a meadow; and in order to get to the other side, you have to jump in. Some people do it with their eyes closed, because they are afraid and don't know what to expect. Some people don't even care; they just jump without even thinking. Like they're jumping off a building without realizing that they're about to die. But maybe the building is just a few feet tall…or maybe it's twenty stories high. Either way, I was on the edge, looking down from a dizzying height. Thinking about consequences and risks…about the benefits. No, not benefits…more like feelings. And those feelings are the things that make you happy. Will I take the risk to be happy, or should I play it safe? Better safe than sorry…I don't know what's at the bottom of this pit. This deep, dark pit…or is it that deep? Like a splinter…it could be small and just below the skin or it could be long and deep into your finger…should you pull it out, risking pain and infection, or should you leave it there until you get to a doctor? They can remove it safely…but what if it's just a tiny thing?_

I snapped out of the weird love similes when I heard the whispering. "Chrissstinaaaa?"

I was shocked when I turned to see Damien speaking. "Chrissstinaaaa…" he said quietly as he pointed to her. She looked at him in disbelief, as everyone else did. Then he pointed to himself. "Damien."


	9. The humans and friends

I hadn't even taught him that one! Everybody sat there staring at him, smiling. Christina leaned down and pointed to him, careful not to scare him or anger him. "Damien?" she asked. He nodded his head quickly and smiled. I looked at him and smiled as my mind wondered again. I suddenly had a flashback.

_I was sitting in my room listening to something. It was loud…music. I think it was called an mp3 player…I heard people banging on the door. There was a chair blocking the door; I turned the music up louder. It was such a familiar sound. I looked at the screen of the mp3 player. It said "Numb, Linkin Park". I screamed and threw something at the door, causing the banging to cease. What was out there? Infected? They were trying to get into the room…what happens next? Then the door opened and the chair fell. Two normal looking humans, older than me, were standing at the door. I put a pillow over my head and cried; the music fading._

_Were those my parents? My parents…are they dead? No, I don't think so…they made it to a base where it was safe…How do I know this? _Everything was blurred as I tore through bags and searched for the old music player. I finally found it and clicked the button on the front. I was starting to learn how to use these human things very well.

I was listening to my old mp3 player when I familiar song came on. I knew that I had heard it before.

"It kills me not to know this but I've all but just forgotten  
what the color of her eyes were and her scars or how she got them,  
as the telling signs of age rain down a single tear is dropping  
through the valleys of an aging face that this world has forgotten."

It was so familiar…

Just then I realized why I knew it. That one part…

"So tell me now,  
if this ain't love then how do we get out?  
Cause I don't know…  
That's when she said I don't hate you, boy,  
I just want to save you while there's still something left to save.  
That's when I told her I love you girl  
but I'm not the answer for the questions that you still have."

I knew what it meant to me now… it was a special song…

"_No! I won't leave!" he said. We were in a burning building, sounds of infected getting louder. "I won't leave you here to die!" he said to me. I cried as he told me to leave. I said I silent goodbye as I left the building, hearing the horde of infected rushing through to the room I had been in moments ago. Gunfire ceased after only minutes, and the building went up in flames. I sat outside, gun in my lap, crying. Then I quietly walked away into darkness._

He was my friend…a very close friend. At one time I think I really liked him…he was more than a friend at one point. His death was my fault…

…

She had been sitting there listening to the old music player for a few minutes when suddenly she stopped and cried out. I immediately jumped to her side, not wanting anything to harm my friend. But nothing was hurting her; she was sad. I could see that she was pained inside, not physically but mentally, and there was something about the music that was causing it. I took the player and listened to it myself. "One thousand miles away, there's nothing left to say but so much left that I don't know. We never had a choice; this world is too much noise. It takes me under- it takes me under once again."

I couldn't make much sense of it…to me it was a jumble of words, put together to rhyme and make a catchy song. But to her it was more; it had a meaning. She was thinking…I don't think she even realized I had come over and taken the music.

…

Ash seemed to be doing something strange; she wasn't acting normal. Anna walked into the room to find her listening to her mp3 player, staring into space. Damien walked over to her and took the music player, looking at it strangely before listening. He shook his head and motioned for Anna to come over and take a listen. She did, and then sighed. "Just music, Damien. Music," she said carelessly before tossing the mp3 player back to him. He yelped out, "I don't hate you?" trying to imitate the song he was listening to.

She turned and said, "Good job, Damien." Then turned and walked away. He groaned and tapped on Ash's shoulder, making her jump in surprise. She turned to him and whimpered; he could see tears falling behind her hooded face. She seized him in a tight grip and began to weep on his shoulder. He stiffened quickly in shock, but relaxed after a few moments. His hand reached out and he wrapped his arms around her comfortably. After a minute or two she jumped back and wiped the tears away from her eyes and face before lying down and falling into a silent sleep. Damien crawled up onto the bed and sighed, his head falling to the pillow once more. It was going to be the last night spent in the safe room.

Usually they only stayed one night, but this time was different. They were getting very tired and decided they should store up their energy instead of using it all and regaining it in one night. After they left, they had no clue what was coming. They could all die out there, roaming the streets that were void of all humans but themselves…it was such an unfamiliar sight that they saw while they walked among the once happy and bright buildings that they used to know. As all of them went to sleep one last time in the comfort of their beds, a growl made Ash stir.

…

I could not bear it anymore. The pain I endured was just too much for me to handle; I had to be loose. I had to let go of myself. _That thing that's been in the back of my head…trying to control me…it has to be set free. I can't take it anymore. These humans are prey…and this female is mine. Nobody else can have her now. Hehe, they won't even see it coming…one minute they are asleep in bed, the next they are ripped to shreds right under my claws…_

I had started to think of strange things like killing and slaughtering humans…things like hurting them in the worst ways and keeping her for myself. I finally got a grip on myself, but that was _after _I screamed. Everybody had their guns on me again…and this time they had every right. I whimpered and tried to speak to them quietly. Nothing was coming out but growls and whines…they were afraid…I could smell it. The darkness in the back of my mind crept up on me again, threatening to unleash itself. I finally snapped and shrieked the Hunters' murder cry. They all jumped backwards and some even shot, but none of them hit me. I cried to myself, not them, but they wouldn't understand. I looked at Ash, who was now completely awake and growling lightly at me. She jumped down from the bed and whimpered at me and I snarled and thrashed, like there were invisible chains holding me back from my prey. The good was battling evil.

Thoughts of them surrounded me. They were crawling down from walls and buildings, crawling in the streets, crawling at my feet begging me to be like them; to kill. I could finish them off right now right here if I was to try. One movement of my hand could slice them all to bits; I could gut them with a swift twist in my wrist. Something deep inside was screaming at me; telling me no. But the other thing was yelling in my head to just kill them already and get it over with; the fewer humans the less threat to me.

I couldn't figure out what to do, so I decided on both. I quickly pounced and cut one of the male's chest open, exposing flesh and bone. Then I whimpered and cried as the reality set in. They were going to kill me now…I didn't mean to hurt anybody.

It was the male that was injured before. He laid on the ground in his own blood now, his chest ripped open. It was such a brutal act…but I did it anyway and I deserved what was coming. There wasn't even a scream from the man who was attacked by me. Just utter silence as his eyes widened, and then slowly closed as he clenched his teeth.

They all stared at me in shock, my pitiful and pathetic self crying and pleading on the ground. My hands covered what was not covered by my hood as tears fell onto the floor, each drop creating a small dripping sound until it was almost as constant as a leaky faucet. I felt hands coming over me; small and fragile hands that worked with great care as they moved across my back to my shoulders and stopping at my neck. They felt the scar…the one that turned me into…this monster…They were gentle and light…not at all like a Hunter's clawed hands. I looked up from my hands to see something I had not expected. It was, in fact, another Hunter. It was her…maybe it wasn't that Hunters' hands weren't capable of being gentle, but that Hunters just didn't know _how_ to use their hands like this? My nerves were slowly calming, the nonstop twitching and anxiety of a Hunter just melting away. The scar didn't hurt anymore…it was like her touch was healing me, inside and out. I decided it would be best if I left and never saw the humans…or her…ever again. She was smiling…this time it was a true smile, not the twisted and fake pitiful smile she used often to make me feel better.

I tried to smile back at her, but it was no use. I yelped and dug my claws into my own arm, trying to focus. I was about to die. I heard a gunshot, felt the sting, but nothing happened. Another clipped my arm, leaving a long, red trail down to my wrist. Still nothing. I decided the only thing to do was to face death. Or maybe…_fake _it…With that I stood my ground for one more bullet. It hit me in the opposite side I was hit in before. The pain was dizzying, but I refused to let myself go to black. I held my breath and closed my eyes, careful not to squint or make any sound. I fell to the ground, still trying to hold my breath. As I fell, I hissed at her to stay quiet. She tilted her head, but went along with it anyway. As soon as I fell, she did was I was praying she wouldn't do. She put her head to my chest for a heartbeat. But strangely after that, she just frowned and began to weep quietly and curse the man who held the gun.

_The other man! _I screamed in my head. The other man was still breathing slightly, though a bit uneven. I hadn't torn anything important…everything was still intact. _Just a flesh wound. He'll make it. _I thought happily until I realized I needed air desperately. Although infected can hold their breath for long amounts of time, about five minutes had already gone by and I couldn't stand it anymore. Lucky for me, my plan worked out perfectly. My seemingly dead body was disguarded into the alleyway where many common infected lay dead or feasting on their fallen brethren. I could never understand why they did this…Hunters would eat if they killed, but never if they simply stumbled upon a carcass festering away on a rooftop or in a secluded street…After I was thrown out of the room, I tried not to make any noise. I got up quietly; making sure nobody could see me through the door. I smiled in satisfaction and turned around.

My life flashed before me…well what I could remember of it anyway. Not much of a life...but still worth living. I was being pulled swiftly through the air, my arms bound tightly to my sides. I could not pounce. I could not scratch. I could not bite. And I definitely could not scream. As I was lifted to the nearest building, I saw one of the others there. The long sticky rope released me and the creature sighed. His eyes wandered around me for a moment as he checked every detail of his catch. He walked forward, his tall figure swaying slightly to the left. He coughed and a scratchy, hoarse sound escaped his throat. _Can he speak, too? He doesn't look like the other Smokers…his face is human, no trace of the cancer that all the others have. Are we all changing? _Then I heard the sound of humans. I crouched low to the ground in case I was attacked. Then I heard a shot, but instead of a puff of sickly green smoke, I saw the Smoker still standing there, coughing occasionally.

He flashed a wicked smile at me, revealing sharp teeth similar to mine, although mine were a lot longer. I backed away from it and tried to escape by jumping away, but it caught my leg before I could land. I hung there, dangling about three feet above the ground. I was very glad he caught me, for I had misjudged the distance between the rooftop and the ground. If I had landed that pounce, I would have shattered my legs and died there, eaten by lessers. He pulled me up and the shouts of the humans grew louder. These weren't the humans the girl was friends with…no these were different. There were two females and two males that I could hear at that moment. The Smoker seemed to respond to a certain female with a lighter tone of voice. Then, out of nowhere, he picked me up and dangled me down to the humans below! I was right, there were four all together. Two men, two women. They all drew guns and I felt something hard and metal against my temple. I whimpered and pleaded with them, but they didn't understand any of it. I looked up at the building top where the Smoker stood, looking over the edge. He was staring at me, just staring. I wanted to go up there and murder him on the spot! I closed my eyes tight and clenched my teeth as I prepared to loose my mind. Literally. One shot and my brain would be splattered all over the wall behind me. I felt breath near my face and turned my head, opening one eye to take a peak at what was happening. A female was investigating, while a male still held his gun to my temple. The other female was pleading with that Smoker up there…_Why would a human speak to a Smoker?_ I remembered the way he looked more human than infected…the way he made human like noises. The man lowered the gun and kept an eye on me.

"Come on down. It's okay, I promise. Come on," she said encouragingly. The Smoker finally dropped me and came down and looked at her, putting a hand to her cheek. Instead of shooting him and backing away, she held the clawed hand and smiled, closing her eyes. The Smoker had a completely human face…well all human features at least, although the blood made his zombie look much more convincing. I growled at him and let out a nasty snarl before trying to lunge at him. He simply plucked me out of the air and pulled me to the ground at his feet. I looked up at him and sighed. He tilted slightly to his left side and coughed.

I reached up, trying to grab onto something so I could stand. Surprisingly, he reached down and lifted me off the ground _without _using his tongue! All of the humans looked at me and slowly put their guns away. All except for the man who had threatened me before. I knew that humans never hurt each other and if these ones found the female's friends, they could work together and chances of survival would at least double…

I looked at the Smoker who still held tight to my hand. I growled and scratched him until he let go of me, then shuffled towards the female who was coaxing him to come down before. She backed away and her eyes widened in horror when I crouched to the ground. She closed her eyes and covered her head with her arms. I launched myself over her and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around and blinked a few times. I was starting to learn human things and do them easily now. I held out my hand and grasped hers lightly, being careful not to hurt her with my claws. I slowly shook hands with her before releasing my grip. The other woman took out a notepad and wrote extremely fast, occasionally looking up and smiling. I looked at the Smoker. He had long shaggy blonde hair and bright blue eyes…much different than most Smokers…but I could tell from the smell of the infected blood in him and the coughs and raspy breath that he was one. He was definitely not human anymore. But there were many things different about him…

He smiled and covered his mouth with his fist as he coughed again. Then he walked over to where I was standing, in front of the female with the soothing voice. She was beautiful…her long brown curly hair was brushed out of her face slightly and hung down past her shoulders as she smiled, her teeth very white considering how long they were out here in the city. I had another flashback…

"_Haha! Come on let's go…it's getting late," she said quietly. I looked at her and smirked._

"_We can stay for just a little longer…" I said. She laughed and pulled on my hand as she led me down the alleyway into the dark, where it was hard to see. I heard something like a zipper…_

I snapped back and looked around. The Smoker was still standing there with a bright smile on his face, his blonde hair dangling down almost to his eyes. _Maybe there's more like me…_ I though to myself as I whined lightly and growled at the woman. After a moment my growl unintentionally deepened. The Smoker grabbed my arm and yanked so I swung back and landed with my back against the wall. He coughed and walked towards the woman. She calmed him down and held his hand tightly. He smiled and hugged her. He was protective…but I could tell this was not his female. No…

A Hunter, a little bit bigger than me, came out of nowhere and jumped at me. The others all yelled and gasped as the Hunter scratched at me and tore my sleeve away. _Damn, I'll need more tape…_ The woman jumped forward with her gun, pointing at the creature. He stopped and slowly turned, then flexed his claws. The Smoker grabbed him with his clawed hand and threw him to the side, and pushing him up against a wall coughing more. The Hunter fell to the ground and whined dizzily. After a moment, the Smoker held out his hand. The Hunter was a male with longish brown hair that hung in strands behind his hood. He was wearing a grey sweatshirt that was a lot darker in color than mine. It didn't have a pocket in the front, either.

The male took the Smoker's hand and stood, still holding onto his hand. They walked forward and the male got closer to me. I closed my eyes, feeling breath on my face. He pulled away when I opened them again, growling while standing behind the Smoker, who was very tall, even for a Smoker. The pretty young woman walked to then, then turned to me. I whimpered and tilted my head. Then I did something that made her turn quickly.

"Chrissstinaaaa…" I pointed towards the safe room in the alleyway. They all ran to it, including the two Infected. Out of nowhere, a Witch screamed and lunged herself at me. A yelled and hit her a few times, but she held tight and tried to bite me. The woman with the glasses ran over to the scene, pulling the Witch off of me. I stood and smiled at her, trying to say thank you. The Witch turned around and grabbed the woman, but after a moment released her and lowered her head.

"No. This Hunter is nice, like Gabe. Please don't hurt him," she said calmly. The Witch looked at her and nodded, shuffling along with us as we ventured to the safe room. When we arrived, the Smoker was the one to knock on the door. At first I saw Christina run to the door. It was obvious they all thought he was another survivor. The others were gathered around the male who I attacked. He was wrapped up in gauze and semiconscious. I felt very bad…

Christina reached for the latch on the door before Rick pulled her back. "Who are you?" he asked the seemingly normal person. It just coughed a few times and let out a terrible rasping sound. Rick got his gun out and pointed it at the Smoker. "What is your name?" he asked, a little louder. Then he realized what was at the door. The other Hunter jumped at the door, sticking his arm through and scratching Christina's arm. Then they all heard the awful sound of sobbing. Anna stupidly shone her flashlight at the door, revealing what was lurking outside the safe room. The Witch slowly stood, then lunged at the door with incredible force, nearly knocking it down. Rick looked around panicking.

"You've got to be freaking kidding me!" he screamed as his gun fired.


	10. New people

As the gunshots rang out into the darkness, a woman walked through the small crowd of Infected. They all stopped and looked at her. The Smoker was just trying to ask politely if he could come in…but that other Hunter was ready to tear apart anything and everything in his way. The Witch was simply scared. The tall Smoker stood there in confusion, then knocked once again. Ash sniffed the air, then happily jumped up and put her hand through the door. "Damien?" she whined. The shy Hunter crawled out from the pitch black alley and stood up. She held her hand out and touched the hood of his sweatshirt. He walked forward and took her hand, begging to come in. The others looked at the Witch, Hunters, and Smoker, then looked back at Christian. He opened his eyes now but could not stand.

He choked out, "Don't let them in." Everybody looked at the woman who was standing outside.

"Please, we have been searching for another safe room for days…Me and my teammates have been taking turns sleeping and watching for any infected in the buildings we stop in…We were a large study group of ten when six of us were killed. A Tank killed four, one was killed by a Witch, and the other was dragged off by a Smoker and never seen again. Now we have these guys to protect us, though," she said smiling while she turned to hug them all. The Smoker smiled back at her, and the Witch started to cry weakly. The Hunter just stood there quietly and then walked around, trying to find a way in. The Smoker coughed and made a hoarse sounding attempt to speak.

"Chr-eh hem-Christina?" he asked, pointing to the room. Christina backed up a little and nodded her head, pointing to herself. He tilted his head and pointed at her. "Christinaaa?" he asked again. She nodded. He looked at her through the metal bars and pushed at the door.

The other people came to the door and explained. "Please let us in. We have been researching a cure and I think we've found it…although the infected person will always act like Infected, they will look more human and they no longer desire to kill anything. Look at Gabe here," he said, pointing to the Hunter who had attacked the door. He was on all fours staring up at them all.

"Are you saying that you found a cure!?" Christina exclaimed. The tougher looking man looked at her.

"Isn't that was I just said!?"

Christina slowly opened the door and let them all in. The Smoker walked in and coughed, nearly falling next to the body of Christian who was now unconscious again. The Smoker poked Christian's arm slowly, making sure not to use his claws. Christian woke to see a Smoker crouching directly over him. He screamed and punched it in the face, trying to stand. He couldn't do it though, and the Smoker stood up, revealing that he was at least two feet taller than him. He screamed even louder and kicked it in the shin, making it fall to the floor. The Smoker stood and hit him, but not too hard, in the arm. Christian got his gun and pointed it at the Smoker. Anna ran over and hit the gun out of his hands before he could shoot, and the Smoker backed away.

"Christian…these are our guests…" she told him quietly. He whimpered in terror when the Witch walked in, tears still on her cheeks. The Hunter crawled in and growled at him, and then Damien slowly walked forward, stopping in front of him. He whimpered a little and sat there, trying to figure out what to do, when Christian pushed him away and covered himself with his arms.

"Stay away from me!" he shouted, pointing at Damien. He obviously understood and backed away from Christian. His arms hung limply at his sides and the smell of fear was in the air as the Witch walked to him and whimpered a little. Christian could feel tension between her and Damien…He gave her a look that almost spoke out loud…

The Witch sobbed and walked towards Rick, who was backed into a corner. She grabbed him and cried on his shoulder while he tried not to make any movement. Christina looked at him with anger and annoyance. She walked over and looked at the Witch before pulling her off of him and half-growling in the process. The Witch cried and sat down on the floor.

"I guess this won't be our last day in here after all," Rick started, "but we don't have that much food left…" He stopped speaking when the new people each took out bags.

"We can share!" the younger man said. The Smoker walked around aimlessly, looking at random things in the room as if they were the mast amazing thing he had ever seen. He picked up Ash's mp3 player, making her growl and tackle him down to the ground to get it back. Rick took a look at the small cut on Christina's arm that the Hunter had given her.

"It's okay, I'll be fine," she said. He grabbed her hand and looked into her eyes.

"Let me make sure…"

She nodded and smiled. He wrapped the wound with gauze and kissed it better. The disoriented Smoker watched Rick and Christina with curiosity. He had seen people do this before somewhere…somewhere in his past. He couldn't remember who, where, or why though…his memory was just fog clouding his head.

…

_Hey give that back! That's mine! _I yelled in my head. That stupid Smoker took my music player and was attempting to use it. I tackled him and grabbed it out of his hands, leaving him disoriented and helpless. I thought about going back there to help him up but realized he was just fine staring at Rick and Christina who were now kissing. He looked like he was in very deep thought…

…

These people were so strange…They also accepted me as a Hunter, and had a few of my Brothers and one of my Sisters…Why did they keep them? They almost seemed like friends…perhaps friends from the past?

The Smoker no longer had the cancer on his face and his tongue was about half the length of a normal Smoker's, the Witch did not have glowing eyes and her clawed where only about six inches long, and the other Hunter did not pounce as well as I and his claws were shorter than mine. _Did the humans do this to them?_

_Maybe they are just different…none want to hurt anybody…I can tell. But there's something strange about that man…something I don't like. _


	11. Bath Time!

Everyone was walking around the safe room doing business as usual when the Witch suddenly attacked Rick. He screamed in fell to the ground as Christina and Anna tried to pull her off of him. The Witch was extremely skinny, and not quite as dirty as most. Actually, the Hunter and Smoker were clean, too. Christina had thought about giving Damien a bath…

…

"Holy hell, stop moving so much!" Christina yelled at the Witch as she clung desperately to Rick. The woman with the glasses walked over and demanded the Witch to stop. To my surprise, she actually stopped and left Rick alone.

"I'm really sorry…the cure hasn't completely set in for her yet…" the woman said. They all looked at the skinny Witch who sat on the floor weeping. She couldn't control it…just like Damien. I started to notice how clean all of the other Infected were…I wasn't all that dirty besides a little bit of Christina's blood from when I turned…but Damien was covered in dirt and blood. I wondered how the others stayed clean…Of course; they didn't attack so the blood problem was nonexistent with them. Damien really needed to get clean though… I hated having to smell the blood and dirt… although I don't think the humans minded. They didn't have senses like us Hunters.

I growled at Damien and stared at him, then crawled closer to him. He whimpered a little and looked at me, obviously a bit nervous about my intensions. I pointed to the bathroom, which had a small shower in it. He looked at me curiously, still a little afraid. I pulled on his sleeve and pulled him over to the bathroom, closing and _properly_ locking it… one of the things I actually remembered.

…

Suddenly everybody heard a Hunter scream, not in anger but in fear. Then they realized the Ash and Damien were missing, and the scream was coming from a male inside the bathroom.

"Oh crap…I better see what they're up to now…" Christina said. She walked over to the bathroom door and tried to open it, but it was locked. "What the hell? Now they know how to lock doors!?" she said to herself, loud enough for others to hear. Everybody looked over to the door where they now heard whimpering and whining.

"Jeez, these things are way too freaking smart!" Christian said. Rick nodded in agreement. Christina tried to kick at the door, then remembered that they needed a door remaining for the bathroom. She yelled to them, "What the hell are you two doing in there!? Ash! Come out here now! Ash?"

…

I did not want to be in that room…especially not with her…I felt very uncomfortable being exposed in front of her like that. She practically tore my sweatshirt off…I didn't even have time to react…and even if I did I wouldn't know what to do. She growled and pounced at me, pinning me to the ground. I didn't like that, but something happened to me and somehow a part of me sort of enjoyed it…something very strange happened that I did not like at all. After a minute she turned on the water, which frightened me even more. When I refused to remove the rest of my clothes, she growled and looked at me angrily until I gave in.

I dragged me feet until I reached the small shower, which didn't have enough room for two people for sure, unless you planned to be standing right against each other. _Is that what she's planning on doing with me!?!?!?!" _I screamed in my head. She wasn't even my female…so I could not do anything with her. I stepped into the shower, the water falling onto my head and shoulders. It felt so good…I hadn't been clean since I was turned. Ash stepped into the shower as well…It took me a little while to realize that she was exposed as well. My eyes widened as I studied her unintentionally. She growled and covered herself with her arms. I could see her ribs and a couple scratches, plus a large bite mark on her neck…it was definitely a Hunter bite. It was very recent, of course, since she had been turned just a few days before. She was very thin, like me, even for a Hunter. I hadn't even realized that she had been doing the same to me, studying my body as her hand wandered to my chest. Her careful fingers traced my scar…

_I yelped as another Hunter tore through my flesh…I heard crying somewhere in the background. Blood gushed from my chest and I slowly lost my vision._

I snapped back and looked at her completely naked body. She growled at me again, but it didn't stop me. I looked into her eyes…She stood a little higher. I leaned down slowly until I reached her lips. They weren't like I had expected…they weren't like most Infecteds' skin. They were soft and gentle. She kissed me back, at first a little startled. She broke the kiss after realizing that our bodies were pressed together under the running water. She turned off the shower after my hair and body were rinsed of blood and dirt, then gave me a towel from the closet. This safe room was full of helpful things…when we needed it we got it. I watched her shake herself off before using the towel to dry her body, her back facing me. I dried off and dressed myself as she did. When we left the bathroom, everybody was staring at us. I heard faint crying somewhere outside the safe room…

I then had a very, very long flashback.

"_Hey Mister…are you okay?" the little girl said. I growled at her, but then remembered part of my past. A woman and I were sitting in a strange room looking at black and white pictures of some creature…they were all blurry and I couldn't see much. A woman came in and spoke to the woman I was with. She was the woman in my other flashback…_

"_The baby looks very healthy, Clarissa," the other woman said._

_I snapped back and looked at the little girl, who was now much closer to me. I growled at her loudly and she jumped backwards. "Mister? Are you alright?" she said, sounding very nervous now. I could smell her fear, which made her so much better as prey. I got ready to pounce and let out my attack cry. Just then she began to cry. I jumped on her, scratching her and bringing my teeth to her neck. I was about to give the final blow and bite her quickly, causing a swift and painless death, when a bullet pierced my skin. I looked up to see a man and woman. The man held a gun while comforting the woman, who was crying._

"_Stay away from our little girl!" he yelled at me. The little girl started crying harder. They were too busy looking at me…they didn't even see it coming. At least I played fair…a Tank roared loudly and knocked the woman into the air…there was a crunch as she landed on the street. Then the man started shooting, but it was too late. The Tank picked him up and threw him against the building nearest to him. His skull was crushed on impact as blood and brains splattered everywhere. The little girl watched the entire thing in horror. I looked at the child, who would make a perfect meal. I could end her suffering now…she would be devoured by others if she wasn't killed now, anyway. I brought my teeth to her neck once again. This time, she suddenly wrapped her arms around me and buried her face in my hoodie, soaking it in tears. The Tank roared and stood feet away from us, but when he leaned down to punch us I tore his face open and he fell to the ground with a thud. The little girl screamed as it fell just about a foot away from us._

_I stopped myself from biting her, even though she was perfect prey. I really needed food, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. That's when I started to "recover" from my disease…I stopped killing so much and started remembering things from before the infection. The little girl looked up at me. I was still in Hunter position, ready to bite, but as soon as I looked at her eyes I knew I couldn't. She stared at me with big blue eyes, only about four or five years old. She hugged me tightly and continued to cry hard. I stood and wanted to turn around…to leave her there…but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I picked her up and she put her arms around my neck as I carried her through the streets, slicing anything that got in our way._

"_Please Mister, talk to me! I'm so scared! Are Mommy and Daddy…dead?" she asked me through heavy tears. I somehow understood her and nodded my head as a carried her down the street to my old lair. She hugged me tight and looked at my eyes. _

"_Why won't you talk to me, Mister?" she asked, "Do you hate me?" I shook my head…I could understand everything she spoke but I couldn't speak back to her. "If you don't hate me, why did you hurt me?" I realized she was bleeding all over me. We made it to my lair and I laid her down in my bed. I got out the only thing I really knew how to use: tape. I let her wash out her cuts then taped her clothes together. Her cuts weren't deep and would heal well if they were left alone._

_That day she just sat on my lap and cried. Late that night, I had thought she was sleeping. I was lying under the blankets with my arm around her and decided I really needed food. I heard humans approaching the building. I could snatch one of them…so I stood up. The little girl sat up and looked at me sadly. "Please don't leave, Mister. I don't want to be alone here!" she said quietly. I pulled the blankets over her and held one finger up to tell her I would be right back. She put the pillow over her head and slept. I snuck downstairs and found a group of humans. There were three males and two females. I pounced on a male and decided to be quick about it. I gave him a completely painless death by a single bite to the back of the neck, and had my meal. The others all stood in shock, not even trying to shoot at me. Then I realized why. The little girl was standing right behind me, crying. She looked at me, horrified at what I had just done. She was terrified…_

_I jumped up and looked at the girl, receiving a painful gunshot in the arm. I picked her up and one of the females grabbed my arm, taking the child and allowing others to shoot at me. I dodged the bullets until one hit me in the chest. I fell to the ground…the little girl screaming. "No! No! Put me down! You hurt my friend!" she yelled at the woman. The woman would not let her go. I started losing my vision, but then the little girl spoke again. _

"_Don't let my friend die! He saved me, and now I have to save him! Put me down, Lady!" she yelled. The woman finally let her go and she ran to my side. "Mister! Mister?" she yelled. I opened my eyes, her voice keeping me from losing consciousness. _

"_Mister! Why did you hurt that man!? Why did you do that!? You hurt me, too, Mister!" she said to me. I couldn't speak her language, and didn't know how to answer her. She obviously thought I was human…I looked the most human out of all the Infected. I had to let her know somehow. I looked at her big blue eyes and held out my hands. She stared at my claws, covered in blood from my last meal. Then she looked at my fangs, which also had blood stains on them. I showed her how I could pounce and jump very high in the air. The others all watched me closely. _

_I didn't want to hurt anybody else if it would hurt her this much. The woman took her hand and sat down on the floor. "You know those things out there that kill people?" she asked the little girl. The little girl nodded. "He is one of those. He will hurt you if you stay with him."_

"_No! He saved me from the giant monster! The one that killed Mommy and Daddy! Now he'll take care of me!" she shouted. I crawled up to her. _

"_He's still a monster," the woman said to her. I nodded my head. The little girl looked at me in terror. I was getting ready to jump away when she grabbed me around the waist and buried her head in my hoodie._

"_Please don't leave, Mister. You're the only friend I have now! I don't want to be alone!" she told me. The woman looked at her._

"_We can take care of you!" she said. The little girl shook her head. _

"_No! You aren't my friends! You hurt him! I'm staying with him!" she said to me. Her stomach started to growl, alerting me she needed food. I picked her up and put her on my back, leaving the humans and carrying her through the building until I sniffed out food. It was a bag of chips, but it would do for now. I gave it to her, and she sat for a moment trying to open it. I sliced right through it with my claws. She thanked me and ate some, then offered me a chip. Trying to be nice, I took it and ate it. I actually liked it, too, but I was full from my real meal. I took care of the little girl and protected her like she was my own for weeks. We learned to communicate with each other and play together. I layed in bed with her every night so she would fall asleep. I did everything for her. One day, a Smoker tried to grab her. I slashed its throat and it fell with a puff of smoke. While I was blinded by the smoke, a heard another Hunter growling. He pounced on me, and then jumped away. I heard the little girl scream, then silence. I sprinted as fast as my legs would go. I searched. Nothing…I couldn't find the little girl anywhere. I couldn't hear her; see her, and all I smelled was her blood. I lunged at the Hunter with so much force he flew back about five feet._

_I plunged my claws into his arms and pinned him below me, tearing at his neck. In the few seconds he had left of his life, he tore a large gash in my chest. He lay dead under me, and then I lost all vision. The only thing I remember from that moment was the Witch sobbing in the back ground somewhere. _

She was like my own child…I grew to love her and she grew to love me, even though I killed and hurt things. That was the worst day of my life. It was worse than being changed. The pain I felt was worse than that. It was ten times worse…maybe even one hundred times worse…than changing into a Hunter. I knew that I wasn't going to be able to protect her forever, but I still couldn't ever let her go. She was my little girl…

…

Damien was very resistant at first and refused to take off his clothes so he could bathe, but after I forcefully took his hoodie away, he began to understand what would happen if he didn't. It was kind of hard not to notice the slight bulge in his pants, though…he seemed to notice it, too and it looked like he was not happy about it at all. He stepped in the shower and I got undressed. When I stepped in the shower, he looked at my eyes for a moment, then looked at my body. I quickly covered myself, but couldn't help but do the same to him. I could tell that he was thinking about something…then he suddenly leaned down and kissed me…it was all so fast but I had to break away after I noticed that 1: We aren't even together; 2: We are in a tiny shower; 3: We're pressed together; 4: We are both completely naked.

We got out and dried off…well I shook off first then used a towel. I could tell he was watching me…I could feel it. I decided not to do anything but made sure I had my back to him the whole time. When we walked out of the bathroom everybody gave us looks. Suddenly he became completely unresponsive…he was remembering his past. I looked at his eyes…they were starting to tear up. A single tear fell from his eye before he zoned in again. I couldn't tell what he was thinking of, but I knew that it wasn't a good memory. Gabe and the Smoker walked over to him, staring curiously.

"The cure might actually make them able to speak again, too. It is supposed to, but you can never know for sure. David was the first one to take it and he's starting to mimic speech," the woman said pointing to the Smoker.

_If we were cured…this disease gone…_

…

Gabe stared at Damien, who was whining now. He wiped his eyes and walked other to his bed, falling on it with a thunk and pulling the pillow other his head. Ash walked over to comfort him. Christina looked at them both strangely. "What did you two do in there!?" she asked Ashley. Ash looked at her.

"B-bath."

The woman with glasses jumped up and looked at Ash, who had just spoken. "Did she say bath!? She can talk?!" she asked Christina. Christina nodded.

"Yes, I've been teaching her how…when she first came back here she was able to say sorry, too. We don't know how, though."

"AND she can do human tasks?!" the woman asked.

"She _is _human…sort of…" Christian said. Everybody looked around for a second before realizing something.

"YOU TWO BATHED TOGETHER!?" Christina asked Ash. She lowered her head, a bit afraid, and nodded slowly. Christina looked at Ash, then Damien, then Ash again.

"Like…no clothes bathed?" Christian asked. Ash tilted her head. "Like, strip the sweatshirt and all that good stuff?" Ash lowered her head even more and nodded again. They all looked at each other. "Okay then…I'll give you two some privacy!" Christian said as he jumped up on his bunk bed.

"That's awkward," Rick commented. Christina just looked at Ash and raised an eyebrow, then winked at her. Ash tilted her head and raised it, then went back to comforting Damien. Gabe and David stood, facing each other, looking into each other's eyes.

"That's even more awkward!" Rick said and they all got busy doing random things like cleaning up and gathering supplies.


	12. Look Both Ways

After the place was neat and free of any blood stains, Ash and Christina sat down on the top bunk of Christina's bed. Damien had fallen asleep on his and Ash's bed. "So…you and Damien?" Christina asked Ash quietly. Ash tilted her head. "You two took a bath together…" she said giggling. Ash looked at her confused.

"Showeerr."

"Haha, okay, you two showered together," Christina said. Ash nodded slowly. Christina looked at her, trying to keep a straight face. "Well I don't want any mini Hunters running around this place!" she said laughing. Ash's eyes widened and her face turned red. She shook her head and hid her face in the pillow. Christina laughed at her and patted her on the back.

"So what were you guys _doing _in there anyway?" she asked Ash. Ash looked at her and lowered her head so her hair hung in front of her face. She crawled closer to Christina and whispered something in her ear.

"Iss…kiss…" Ash whispered. Christina looked at her and laughed.

"You sure that's all?" she asked, winking. Ash nodded her head and pulled the sheets over herself. Christina looked at her, then remembered what she had told them earlier.

"You were both in there naked!?" she exclaimed just a bit too loud. Damien looked over, growling. He jumped up to the top bunk where Christina and Ash sat. Christina jumped back a little, almost falling off the bed and landing on Rick below. Ash just hid her face once again and covered her head with her arms, whining a little. Damien tilted his head and growled, jumping towards Ash. She uncovered her head just to see him pounce into the air and pin her to the bed. She growled and wriggled and Christina sat watching, unsure of what was going on and what she should do. The Witch that was crying earlier was growling loudly at the door now, and the Witch who was inside was clawing at the door. She screeched loudly at the Witch outside the door of the safe room. It came a few feet closer before being painfully torn in two by the scrawny Witch, who turned to Rick; her eyes fading from glowing red to a golden color with a faint hint of crimson.

After the other Witch's crying ceased, everybody backed away from their young friend who had ever so carelessly ripped another of her own kind in half with her claws.

"Suzie!" the woman with glasses yelled, "Why did you do that!?"

Christian interrupted. "As long as the thing isn't gonna go all crazy killer Witch on us, it's fine by me!" Damien still had Ash pinned and was now smirking. Ash had a look on her face that Christina had seen many times, before and after the infection. She had seen it when Ash fought with her younger sister, argued with her parents, and even when they had gotten into minor fights. She had this look on when Boomers where around, when Christian was being a jerk, or when somebody set off a car alarm or startled a Witch. It was not a look of fear or terror. It was a look of simple annoyance.

Ash tried to move her arms, but he was much to strong. She finally got an idea, and kicked him right in the nuts. He yelped and jumped off, growling at her angrily. She smiled brightly; her sharp teeth gleaming in the light of the safe room.

"Time to move out, kido's!" the oldest man in the other group yelled. "I already got your bags packed and everything now let's go!" Everybody nodded and grabbed a bag and a gun. Of course, as soon as they walked out of the safe room, a Boomer puked all over Gabe and David, who were now huddled in a corner trying to fight off the infected the Boomer had just alerted. Gabe began to laugh as he realized that his claws could tear through almost anything that got in his way, and David just stood behind him covering himself with his arms.

"Eww! This is so disgusting!" Christina screamed, "I swear I am gonna kill this freaking thing!" Gabe tackled it and dug his claws into its sides until its stomach burst. Everybody wiped off and continued on. They were doing fine, shooting what ever was in their way, until a Hunter pounced Ash. She yelped, then remembered her trick and kicked him where it hurt. He screamed and jumped away, letting the recovered Christian shoot it smack in the forehead. It flew backwards and landed on a fence. Suddenly, everybody heard soft crying. They all shut their lights off and tried to find the thing before they bumped into it. It was Anna to find her, hiding_ IN_ a car.

"How the hell did she get in there?" Rick asked quietly. Christian shrugged.

"She probably won't come out, though!" he said while raising his rifle. He looked through the scope, then nearly dropped the gun. "That's not a Witch…" he said in a whisper. Everybody looked at him.

"Then what is it?" Sienna asked. They all looked at the shadow in the car.

"_She _is a survivor…" Christian said, his voice trailing off. Rick squinted into the distance and gasped. His eyes widened as he realized the sad truth about the situation. A Hunter was the reason she was crying. On the other side of the car, banging on the window, was a Hunter. The window began to crack. He hit harder. Harder. Harder. The glass shattered and he some how managed to open the door. They all heard a scream, then silence.

"Damn…" Christian said quietly. Christina gasped and got her guns out.

"He just killed that girl! You guys aren't even gonna TRY to kill him?!" she asked. Everybody looked around. Gabe and Ash crawled up to her and stood at her sides. David followed Gabe over to her. Rick came over. "Guess we're gonna go this way!" Christina said happily. They all walked down the street and towards the car where the Hunter lurked. When they arrived, the Hunter was there, with a bit of blood on his hands. Gabe pounced him and clawed through the sleeve of his sweatshirt. Rick shot him in the arm. Instead of a growl, they heard a little yelp, then a whimper. Ash jumped up and ran over to the Hunter, pulling his hood up and revealing a very scared Damien. Gabe got up and walked over to David, who was staring, confused, at Damien.

"Damien!?" Christina yelled. He whimpered in response. Then something odd happened. Damien jumped up to his feet, his ears twitching. He leapt inside the car and growled softly, more like humming than an angry growl. Then they all heard a giggle. Not the crazy giggle they sometimes heard from Damien, but a girl giggle. A young, sweet girl giggle. Inside the car, sitting on the floor, was a little girl. Damien grabbed her and lifted her up, putting her in his back. She laughed then gasped as her stomach growled. Damien immediately put his nose to the air and inhaled deeply. The little girl yawned and hugged Damien tightly as her eyes began to flutter closed. They continued walking down the street until they got to a building with a safe room sign. They all sighed in relief until Anna screamed. Rick quickly turned to see his sister being dragged away from the group. He ran after her, trying to shoot the thing's tongue. They all heard screaming and tried to run after Rick, but another Boomer came out of nowhere and they all got covered in sickly green slime.

The group ran into the building and found a safe room. "Well that was quick…" the oldest man said. Christina looked around the room frantically.

"YOU LEFT THEM OUT THERE TO DIE!" she yelled. Her boyfriend, and one of her closest friends, were now out there alone, possibly dead, and none of her friends cared. She picked up her gun and shot a glass mug on the table, sending shards flying everywhere. "AND YOU DON'T EVEN CARE!" she yelled. She began to cry…_Rick was not there to comfort her_…She cried even harder. Damien crawled up to her quietly and tapped on her shoulder. She turned around and saw that the little girl was now crying. "I'm sorry…" Christina said quietly. Then she took out her gun again and yelled some more at the older man. She shot around the room until she heard a scream.

"CHRISTINA! WATCH WHERE YOU SHOOT! Ow my fucking foot! Come on it was just starting to feel better!" Christian screamed. Christina fell to the ground. "What the hell?"

"Looks like she passed out…" Sienna said quietly. Later on, Christina woke up on the small couch in the safe room.

"We…have t- to find them…" she said, half awake. She started to stand but stumbled backwards and fell on the couch. She looked up and saw somebody holding their hand out for her. She grabbed it and pulled herself up so she was standing again. Then she looked up to see who it was. "RICK!" she said happily and grabbed him in a hug. He hugged her back and smiled.

"You didn't think I was gonna leave you, did ya?" he asked quietly. Christina couldn't say anything, until she realized that Anna was also there. She ran over and hugged Anna.

"I thought you guys were dead!" Christina yelled. Ash and Damien stood silently.

…

I heard crying…everybody thought it was a Witch. But this was not one of my sisters…no nothing like it. It was human…I could tell. My hearing was much better than theirs, and I had to make sure they didn't hurt her. I looked to see if anybody was looking at me, then darted back and around a building. I moved quickly, walking among fences and cars until I arrived at the human girl with my hood down low without anybody even seeing me. That was the good thing about being a Hunter…you were incredibly fast, had super senses, and could move around so that nobody saw you when you were only twenty feet away from them. I hit the window of the car and realized that they had seen me. I hit it harder until it broke and reached in, unlocking it and opening the door. I picked up the girl, who screamed loudly. I knew what they were thinking…but the little girl was fine. She was just scared…

"_Mister, why did you hurt me?" she asked. I looked into her deep blue eyes. They had a sad and curious expression. I couldn't tell her why in words, but I could say sorry. I hugged her tightly and gave her a bag of chips. We walked through Hell holding hands, me destroying everything that wanted to harm her. They weren't gonna get my little girl…no way._

I came back to the present when a Hunter pounced me. It brought back even more memories…when I lost my little girl and gained the scar on my chest. I was ready to rip his throat out when I realized it was the Hunter in my group. I felt pain in my arm and realized it was a bullet passing through right below my shoulder. Another good thing about being a Hunter: tolerance to injury and pain. Ash came over and pulled my hood up away from my face to show the humans who they were shooting. I looked into the car and saw the little girl had stopped crying. I picked her up and she laughed. Everybody looked so confused…

I picked her up and put her on my back. I could tell she was hungry…

…

After a little while of hugging, Christina asked Rick what happened. "Well Anna got grabbed by a Smoker and there was NO way I was letting that thing get my little sis! So I ran after her and when we reached the Smoker, there were two of them! The one that had Anna was a little taller than the other, though. He just let go of her and backed away, like he was scared of something. The other one backed away, too, and they both backed up against the wall, and when I pulled out my gun, one covered his face and the other closed his eyes! They didn't look like they were full Smokers…it was kind of weird. I mean, they were definitely Smokers, but they didn't have the big bubbles on their faces. I decided to just leave them there," Rick explained in detail. Christina hugged him and Anna.

"I'm just glad you're okay," she said quietly. Ash looked at her silently. Damien was standing beside her with the little girl they had found earlier.

"Hmm, it's so strange how we just stumbled upon her, all alone…" Christina said. Rick looked at her.

"Well I'm sure there are a lot of kids out there with no parents…I mean, look at us!" he said, pointing to Anna. "Our parents are dead, Christian's mother is dead, we haven't found your parents…There are tons of kids that lost their parents…" he trailed off. Damien hugged the little girl when they realized she was crying.

"Mommy and Daddy got killed by a monster…" she said crying. Damien stared down at her. Those big blue eyes reminded him so much of…

Damien growled at the girl. Christina jumped up to try to calm him, but he just sat there, hugging the girl; his growl was like a lullaby. She looked at him and wiped her eyes, trying to smile.

"Mister, will you take care of me?" she asked. At that moment, everything fell into place in Damien's mind. The little girl was with him once more…she hadn't died that night when he was attacked by one of his brothers…

"Uh…little girl…you see, I really don't know how to tell you this, but he's a monster, too. But he's a nice monster usually! He just can't take care of you…" Christina had trouble explaining to her. Damien growled a little louder as a warning not to get too close to the girl. Christina backed up and sighed as Damien looked at her, their eyes locked. She was really surprised when he gave a nod. The little girl grabbed him and gave him a kiss on the cheek before falling asleep in his arms. He smiled and hugged her gently, growling a soft lullaby. It was feared by any other human in the room, but to the girl, it was a gentle hum that made her drift to sleep easily. Everybody looked at the girl, not even knowing what to say.

"Damien…" Christina said quietly. Ash leapt to his side and looked at the little girl, then at him. He was smiling…so serene and calm…so gentle. None of them had ever seen anything like that after the infection struck…everything was just about surviving to the next day.


	13. The End And a pretty happy one, too!

After a while, one of the young women stepped forward. "I'm sorry, I just realized that we haven't introduced ourselves yet! I'm Becky, and this is Jen," the woman with glasses said. The younger man smiled.

"I'm Ken," he said quietly.

The older man just scoffed and growled out, "Jackson." Everybody on the other team said their names. Then Ash stood up.

"I'm Ashhh," she said shyly. Damien also stood and said his name.

"It's amazing how they have learned so quickly!" Becky said. They all settled in to the new room and Damien took the little girl to a bed. Jen walked over to her, but Damien quickly growled and made her back away. She nodded her head to show she understood and then asked him one, simple question.

"What's her name?" This question stopped Damien for a minute. He looked at her and tilted his head. He tapped her arm and pointed to himself.

"Damien." Then he pointed to her and gave her a curious look. "Hmm?" She looked around.

"Sarah." Damien smiled.

"Sara," he repeated, pointing to her. She nodded and smiled back at him. She was so small and fragile. So…cute. He looked over at Ash.

_She was cute, too…But in a more…well…in a different way. _

She was listening to her MP3 player. She had her eyes closed and she was smiling, slightly moving her hands in a drumming motion. Damien smiled at her. He felt more…human…when he smiled.

_When he felt good emotions…_

Ash opened her eyes and looked up, seeing Damien staring at her. She offered a smile back, then looked down and closed her eyes, the drumming resuming. It was funny how she was so much like her human self…

Just then, a gun went off. Ashley snapped up and growled, seeing the shooter was Jackson. She snarled at him and looked around to see if anybody was hit. Nope, everybody was okay, but frightened. The little girl was crying. Damien was holding her in his arms tight, careful not to let go. The man growled out something quietly and put the gun to Becky's head.

"Any of you move, and she's dead," he yelled. Ken shifted slightly and started to shake.

"Don't hurt her! What do you want!?" he yelled out. Jackson smiled.

"I want you people dead, thinking that it's okay to become friendly with these…zombies!" he yelled. He grabbed Becky by the hair and yanked her up, making her begin to cry. Ash growled and he immediately pointed the gun to her. Damien made his move.

Legs pushed off the ground.

Arms stretch as he flew through the air.

He landed on Jackson and scratched his chest and arms. Jackson screamed loudly but it didn't stop Damien. He had a bad feeling about the man since they had come along. Now he had to get rid of him, or they all could die. He never stopped until the man under him had ceased to move and breathe. He looked around. His pupils where huge and his grey eyes were dark and cloudy. Ash leapt over and hugged him tight, getting blood all over herself. They all settled down when they heard a helicopter. They rushed outside and looked up. It was headed for the hospital. They all ran back inside and grabbed their stuff, leaving the dead body behind. Then out they went, towards the hospital.

Upon arriving, the group instantly was attacked by a large amount of infected. Up they went, to the top floor and outside to the torn up landing. A roar was heard. The ground began to shake as a monstrous infected rushed towards the survivors. It swung its arm and knocked Ashley across the landing pad. She whined but stood back up and continued to taunt it, making it run at her and allowing others to shoot at it. At the last moment, she jumped up and flew over the Tank's head, landing on its shoulders. It roared and flung itself around trying to knock her off. It ran to the other side of the landing pad and hit Sienna. She screamed before being thrown over the edge. Christina ran to the edge.

"Sienna!" she yelled. But it was too late; the dead girl's body was far, far below. Pretty soon the beast was killed. Ash snapped its neck and jumped off before it fell and crushed her. The helicopter landed and they all rushed on.

* * *

Two months later and the group was still together. But this was different. This time they were sitting in a large white room with reinforced walls and doors. The cure was found. Things were beginning to look up. But then, of course, Damien, Suzie, David, Ash, and Gabe were all taken by the government. Today they were getting the official cure. It basically did what Becky's cure did, but it was more effective. A man, previously a Tank, walked out of the room in front of them. It was completely silent and white in the two rooms. Everybody was just looking at the ground, hands folded on their laps. They were nervous…

The man who had been a Tank looked completely human, but he was much more muscular and a bit taller than the average man. He looked scared…David was first of the Infected to go into the next room. He was scared. Gabe held his hand tight until he walked through the doorway and closed the door.

They head David cough. Gabe jumped up and looked alert. He calmed and sat down before jumping back up again when sudden choking sounds where heard, then silence. He ran to the door and banged on it, but it was no use. Nothing in the room made a sound. He sat back down, worried.

About an hour later, a tall man left the room. He stuck out his tongue. It was a little longer than the average tongue, but fairly normal looking. His face was smooth and his teeth were slightly pointed. He smiled and looked around the room, rubbing his eyes. He looked at the group.

"Guys?" he called. Gabe jumped up and ran towards him, practically tackling him to the ground. They walked to the group where David received hugs from everybody. Then Jen looked at him. She smiled slightly; tears were falling from her eyes. She grabbed him quickly in a hug and sighed. Then she sat down and smiled.

"Gabe…" David said quietly. He hugged him tight before turning to see a man in a lab coat.

"Gabriel?" he asked to the room. Gabe walked through the big doors. They all sat in the quiet for a while before Gabe, who looked the same, but cleaner and less pointy claws, walked out of the room. Damien was next, then Ash, then Suzie. They gave Suzie new clothes and she was much cleaner. Her hair had more color in it and her long claws were reduced to short fingernails. She looked much healthier. They were all growing tired and it was late. They headed back to the base camp they were staying at.

* * *

Three months later things were getting more normal. People were rebuilding homes, survivors were found, and Infected were cured. Some could not be cured, though, and many were humanely killed. It was strange how fast things were going back to normal…Ash lived in her own house that she lived in before. It was untouched. Damien found his brother and moved in with him in his apartment. They lived on the second floor. His brother was always away, though, and Ash practically lived there when he was gone. Ash and Damien were best friends who sometimes shared a kiss…or two…or maybe a hot shower. But they didn't consider themselves _together._ One cold day Ash started to feel sick. It felt so much like the infection…she began to panic. She called Damien to the living room where she crouched, on the floor, coughing and holding her stomach. She got up and ran to the bathroom. Later that month, she was staying at Damien's house. The sickness was just a bug. But as she was standing, looking in the mirror in the bathroom, she became very distressed.

"DAMIEN!" she yelled. He ran to the door.

"What's wrong?" he asked, feeling concerned. She looked at her face, which was turning rosy and hot. Her eyes were beginning to sting and salty tears fell quietly.

"Damien, I need to talk to you about something."

"Sure, just come out here and we can talk," he said quietly. She opened the door and he saw she had been crying. He wiped her tears away and hugged her. "What's wrong?"

She looked up at him and led him over to the couch. "Damien," she said, trying to smile, "I'm pregnant." He looked at her with wide eyes and started to stutter. Then he just stood up, grabbed her hand and pulled her up, and hugged her tight.

"Ash, I've known you for about four months now. But I think we've gone through what the average pair of stupid teens has. Ashley, will you marry me?" he asked quietly. She wrapped her arms around him and held tight. All she could do was nod.

Meanwhile, somewhere other than the cozy apartment, Rick and Christina walked quietly. They were in the park, where there was a pond and a small path that led through a tunnel of trees. It, too, was untouched by the infection. They sat down on a bench and huddled up together to keep warm in the cold October breeze. Christina's birthday had just past, but she didn't celebrate it. She celebrated making it out alive, though. Rick pulled her close and kissed her, smiling. They continued to walk until they reached the small, one floor house they had.

Across town, Christian and Becky were at home on the couch, drinking beer and watching a game, followed by cuddling and a romantic comedy. They didn't look perfect for each other, but they were. They both enjoyed science, art, romantic comedies, football, beer, and hanging out with the guys.

Anna was out at a party with a bunch of friends.

Jen and Ken were out fishing in the chilly weather somewhere across the state. It was strange how all of them ended up together…Even Gabe and David ended up falling for each other. Suzie found a boyfriend, Randy, who was a Smoker. The Infected still had some features like long nails, sharp teeth, big muscles, Smokers had longer tongues than humans, and Hunters still had strong legs. But they didn't look all that different. Some people thought it was disgusting for a human to love an Infected. Some people were afraid of them. Nobody had actually had a child with one yet. That worried Ash and Damien. They had taken Sarah as their own, but they didn't know what was going to happen to their baby.

* * *

Nine months after the Infection hit and things were practically normal. It was strange…but nobody minded. It just made things easier for everybody. If people were to go around towns where buildings were burned down everywhere and there was trash piles all over the place, then it wouldn't be healthy, and could possibly spread more of the infection. There were a lot of animals coming out from abandoned buildings and places. Cats and dogs, especially. Ashley looked down at her pregnant belly and smiled. Her and Damien were married and happy with little Sarah and a baby on the way. They didn't know what to expect of the baby, but since after the infection your DNA changes slightly, they thought that the baby might be part human, part Hunter. The cured Hunter, that is.

* * *

And three months later that's exactly what happened. They had a baby girl, who could crawl from birth, and had tiny pointed teeth and claws. They named her Clarissa.


End file.
